Inevitability
by Lica03
Summary: A sinner's past will always come back to haunt him just as some things are fated to happen. As sure as the demise of each man and the dawning of a new day, it is inevitable. This is my first fanfic, Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: Hayato

hello to one and all! this is my first fic in and its about my favorite anime/manga, love hina by ken akamatsu. though i have nothing against the genius of akamatsu-san's work, i just thought i'd add a little action of my own to it. my story contains some OC's, just a warning for those who have something against original characters. and with that, on with the disclaimer!

**Disclaimer: I do not own love hina. Its story and all of its characters belong to the greatest manga writer and illustrator ever to grace this earth with his work, ken akamatsu.**

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_Love Hina: Inevitability_

Prologue:

_"Only one object is beyond both the power and mercy of the gods, they cannot make the past as though it had never been"_

_-Aeschylus_-

A young boy wearing a gray sweater-jacket with a hood on his head was standing in the middle of a dimly lit warehouse. His hands were inside the pockets of his jacket as he stood there, several armed men surrounding him.

They carried MP5A5's and assorted side arms. The looks on their faces obviously showing slight amusement at what this boy had told them a moment ago. A man in a black business suit stepped forward as he lit a cigarette and took a puff, his long black hair which was about waist length hanging loosely behind him.

"So...you're telling me that Orochi industries sent you to make sure I keep my silence?" The man put the cig back in his mouth as he waited for the boy to reply.

"If that means killing you then yeah, you got it." said the boy as he smiled from underneath his hood.

"Hah, you got a sense of humor kid, I like that, but I don't think you'll be killing anyone tonight" said the man as he chuckled slightly.

"You are a threat to the Orochi. I was sent to kill you. Just making that clear" said the boy as he smiled at the man again. The man blinks and he feels something brush slightly across his cheek. The moment he regains vision he sees the boy holding his cigarette in between the fingers of his right hand.

"What the hell?" said the man in disbelief.

"You okay boss?" asked one of the goons beside him.

"Yeah I'm fine but did you see that?"

"See what boss?" asked the goon. The boy pulled down his hood and the man was even more surprised at what he saw. The boy was very young from the looks of his face. His messy jet black hair covered his eyes slightly but not enough to neither hinder vision nor hide his dark brown eyes.

"Just so you know..." the boy said as he stood the cigarette on the floor with its butt on the floor and the lit part facing upward. "My name is Hayato Koganei." said the boy as he reached behind him and pulled out a pair of gold plated .45 semi automatic pistols. "And you'll all be dead before this cigarette burns itself out" Hayato pulls the hammers back and smiles at them.

"I'd be running for cover right now if I were you" said Hayato finally as he raised his twin pistols at the shocked faces in front of him. The sound of gunfire erupted from the warehouse as it echoed off into the night.

_

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_

_Chapter 1: Hayato_

The empty shell casings rolled on the floor producing a faint yet distinct metallic sound that echoed through the now empty warehouse.

Hayato looked around at his handiwork as he noticed someone still moving at the corner of his eye. He walked up to the half dead goon and kicked away the pistol he was trying to reach for.

He looked down at the bloodied man who stared back at him, not an ounce of fear noticeable in his eyes. Hayato took aim and fired. The bullet embedded itself in between the goon's eyes giving him a clean, painless death.

The top half of the pistol had locked itself backwards meaning that it had run dry. Hayato ejected the empty magazine and loaded a fresh one.

The boss lay still amongst the bodies of his dead men as he observed the boy reloading his gold plated pistol. "He killed everyone" the boss said to himself as he looked on at the bodies lying on the floor. "Unbelievable" he said behind clenched teeth.

"Is this what they were up to?" he asked himself silently.

-A few hours earlier-

_"I told you he isn't ready!" said a man in a white lab coat. He looked quite old due to his hair which was almost completely silver aside from a few streaks of black still remaining. The deep wrinkles on his face was proof that time showed him no mercy in its passing._

_He was speaking to another man much younger than he was. The man wore a black pinstriped business suit and his hair which reached slightly past his shoulders was slicked back with hair gel. "Our buyers are becoming impatient radius, we need to see what this unit can do." said the younger man _

_"No offense Yuichi but that is a stupid excuse to rush something this delicate" said the scientist. _

_"None taken ran, but understand doctor Aoyama that if we lose our clients then you will lose funding for this project" Ran Aoyama stood up. _

_"Rush this and we WILL lose the project" said ran as he looked at the huge glowing cylinder in the middle of the room "then make him ready, Orochi industries needs this unit to work, and I need to see what the SPEARs can do as well" _

_Ran glared at Yuichi. "Activation of the product is already uncertain but adding in the prototype SPEARs is too much" said ran as he slammed his fist onto the table causing a dent on its metal surface _

_"You're asking for a disaster yuichi!"_

_Yuichi nodded his head "do it ran or should I say radius?" ran glared at him "I didn't give you permission to use my nickname" _

_"Have the unit ready radius, do not make me 'persuade' you again" said Yuichi with a sense of finality in his tone. "Hah! Or what? You've already killed my family. Everyone I ever loved is dead Yuichi, thanks to you" radius said. _

_"I know more than you give me credit for radius, do not disappoint me or you'll know what I'm talking about" _

_Radius glared at him once more "just get the product ready Radius, no matter what the risk" he said as he walked out of the dimly lit laboratory. Before Yuichi could leave, ran had something to say first._

_"His name is Hayato koganei, he deserves at least that much for what you put him through." said Ran as he looked at the cylinder once more. __Inside was a boy not more than 16 years old with his jet black hair floating about in the orange liquid filling the cylinder. Several wires and tubes were attached to his body and on top of the cylinder was a steel plate bolted to its surface with the engraving: _

_"UNIT 03: koganei, hayato"._

-Back to the present-

"I knew there was something different about you" said Hayato as he let his arms wielding the twin pistols hang loose at his sides. "You're special...not like these guys" the boy said as he shot a glance at the boss' direction, locking eyes with him instantly. The boss smiled inwardly as he slowly got up and picked up the cigarette hayato had placed on the floor earlier.

"My promise still stands" said Hayato as he trailed his pistols at the silhouette that slowly made its way to the light. "I'm still going to kill you before that cig dies out" said the boy referring to the cigarette in between the boss' fingers.

"I would've liked to see you in your true form Hayato" said the silhouette as he stepped into the light, revealing himself to be the "boss" Hayato threatened a while ago, when all his goons were still alive.

"I don't think so" said Hayato as his eyes narrowed.

"Pity...I hear you were supposed to be the perfected product" said the boss as he flicked the grey ashes of the burnt cig while twirling it between his fingers. "Show me Hayato, just how inferior I am to you." said the boss as he tossed the cig away and locked his gaze at the young man in front of him.

"Show me why the orochi needed this prototype dead" the boss snapped, the bitterness evident in his tone.

"Show me your true face." said the boss as he blinked once, showing that his irises had shifted from dark brown to crimson. His waist length hair started to turn silvery white from roots to tips. In a few seconds the boss' head was covered in silver locks of hair, his crimson eyes burning through the gaps in his bangs.

"I want to see just how _perfect_ you are Hayato" said the boss as he gave him a "come on" signal. Hayato merely looked at him as a grin made its way across his face. "Level the field Hayato" said the boss. Hayato eased his stance as he closed his eyes. The boss grinned with anticipation.

-A few hours earlier-

_Hayato was met by a warm towel as he stumbled out of his glass capsule. His blurry vision cleared and he saw the kind face of an elderly scientist greet him with a smile. "How are you feeling Hayato? Its good to have you back" said radius._

_"Hayato...Hayato koganei, that's my name right?" he asked the scientist who chuckled slightly. "That it is, my name is Ran Aoyama, radius for short." Hayato smiled and extended his hand to radius who took it. "Nice to meet you radius-san" radius pulled Hayato to his feet and snapped his fingers at one of his scientists. The said scientist immediately returns with a set of clothes which radius hands to hayato. "Put them on, we have much work to do"._

_After a few minutes, Hayato and radius get on a black honda civic. The driver turns on the ignition and they speed out of Orochi laboratories and down the streets of tokyo which was bustling with nightlife. Radius briefs hayato who looks outside his window, amazed by the brilliant flashing lights in the streets. _

_"Hayato, you are aware of the SPEARs correct?" asked radius. _

_"Self Powered Enhancement and Adaptation Robots" said Hayato "they're supposed to give me ability boosts when activated right?" radius nodded in response "a warning about that however." said radius as he handed Hayato an attaché case. _

_"The SPEARs are still unstable, use them only in emergencies" said radius "for the meantime, use these." Hayato opens the attaché case and inside were two gold plated colt.45 semi automatic pistols with identical engravings of dragons wrapping around the lengths of its sides. Six magazines accomapany them, all encased in foam padding. _

_"Thanks radius-san!" said Hayato as he tucked the pistols into the back of his jeans and the magazines into his pockets. _

_They arrive and the car pulls over to let Hayato out. radius' window slides down and he gives Hayato a last piece of advice "leave no survivors" hayato nodded as he pulled his hood over his head and walked toward the warehouse._

-Back to the present-

Hayato opened his eyes and immediately tossed his pistols aside. They slid on the floor with a metallic clatter as he flashed the boss another mischievous grin.

"That should level the field just fine" said Hayato as he charged towards the boss. The jet black haired boy's approach was swift as he did a baseball slide, hopefully catching the boss off guard. The boss instead sidestepped and grabbed the hood of Hayato's gray sweater-jacket. The boss quickly threw him up several feet in the air.

Hayato was stunned at the boss' inhumanly quick reactions and suddenly felt a blunt object strike his spine with tremendous force. The pain that followed made the boy clench his teeth as the boss immediately followed that knee to the spine with an elbow to the chin.

hayato' head snapped back as the boss continued his assault. The boss followed the right elbow with a swift left fist. Hayato was however quick enough to block the fist with his arms which only transferred the pain from his face to his forearms instead. The boy plummeted to the ground and crashed into some old crates. They splintered into millions of pieces and sent dust flying about as the boss landed gracefully back to earth.

The boss glanced at the pile of shattered lumber and saw no Hayato. He smiled as he heard the fluttering of clothes coming from above him. Hayato had leapt into the air and was attempting to land a foot in the boss' face with as much force as possible. The boss caught his foot and used his downward momentum to pull Hayato closer and retaliated with the back of his left fist to his face. The teenager's head snapped back at the tremendous force and the boss wasted no time with landing flurry after flurry of lightning fast punches on Hayato's defenseless torso. When the boss had felt that he had broken each and every one of Hayato's ribs he ended the boy's pain with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying into the unforgiving embrace of a concrete wall.

He collided with the wall and slumped down to the floor an unconscious and bloody mess. Lacerations, bruises, broken bones and internal bleeding only worsened Hayato's present predicament as he saw the boss inch closer to him.

He glanced at the cigarette on the floor. "Shit it's almost out" said hayato to himself as he struggled to stand himself up.

"Only in emergencies" repeated radius' voice inside Hayato's head. He saw the nearly burnt out cig once more and said to himself

"This definitely counts as an emergency" Hayato closed his eyes and said "SPEAR units activate."

Hayato's hair turned into the same silvery white shade as the boss' and his eyes turned crimson as well as he stood up. "Cell regeneration is at maximum output" said hayato as he felt his ribs go back into place. The bruises quickly disappeared as he wiped the blood from his mouth. He stared at the boss who grinned back at him.

"That's what I've been waiting for" said he boss as he initiated the charge this time.

Hayato evaded the boss' right fist which was en route toward his face and quickly parried it as the boss tried to swing his right arm at him after the miss. Hayato clutched the boss right arm tightly as he pulled him closer and landed several strikes at the boss upper torso with his free left hand. He finished with a right handed uppercut to the boss stomach which made the boss collapse.

The boss knelt in front of hayato as he clutched his battered and broken upper torso. The salty, irony taste of blood filled his mouth as he looked up at the boy.

"Perfect indeed" he said as hayato grabbed him by the neck and raised him several inches from the floor. The boy locked eyes with the boss. "Last requests?" he asked as he tightened his grip on the boss. "Remember...the trinity, your family" said the boss as he forced the words out of his partially constricted throat. Hayato scanned his head for any records on this "trinity" but found none.

"Sorry, can't help you there" said Hayato as he snapped the boss' neck. The boss' body went limp as his last breath escaped him. Hayato let the body slump down to the floor as he picked up the burnt cigarette as the last of its embers slowly died out. The boy flicked it away and smiled as he closed his eyes. "SPEAR units deactivate" his hair reassumed its jet black shade and his eyes reverted to its original dark brown color.

"Mission accomplished, awaiting extrac-" a ringing sound made hayato pause mid sentence. It started to get louder and louder until hayato was forced to cover his ears.

"Where the hell is that coming from?!" he said as the sound increased in pitch and volume. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through hayato's entire body as he collasped on the ground out of excruciating pain. hayato let out a blood curdling scream as he convulsed on the ground.

His hair was now quickly growing in length. In a matter of seconds, his hair had grown past waist length and had started to revert to their silvery white color.

Hayato screamed as he clutched his head which throbbed in blinding pain. His eyes had become crimson once more. He tried to get up amidst the blinding pain he was in but failed and instead lay motionless on the floor. His vision slowly faded to black as the pain continued to course through his entire system.

Visions started to flood hayato as he lay on the cold warehouse floor, Visions of two men. One had long hair covering the left side of his face, the other wearing a black bandana that held his long blonde hair back. They were standing side by side in front of a squad of armed men.

He could only watch the muzzle flashes as fear kept his feet riveted to the floor. He saw his two companions succumb to the unforgiving pieces of metal tearing through their bodies. He felt the pain, he could taste the blood. He fell to his knees as the squad reloaded.

Hayato managed to see something in the background before the firing squad could finish him off. It was an insignia, a dragon eating its own tail. It glowed red behind the firing squad as he read the silver letterings above it. "OROCHI INDUSTRIES".

With another blood curdling scream, hayato completely lost consciousness and everything faded to black.

To be continued…(hopefully)

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i already cut this 1st chapter in half coz i thought that the original one that had 5000 plus words might be too long but now im worried that this cut version might be too short. but anyway, ive already done several chapters in advance, just proofreading them so dont worry about the hinata girls or keitaro, their definitely on their way. 

i hope you enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it! please leave a review or some constructive criticisms if you have the time! a flame or two wouldn't be all that bad either, i consider any opinion helpful anyway. thanks for your time!


	2. Chapter 2: Breaking the Ties

**Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Its story and all of its characters belong to the greatest manga writer and illustrator ever to grace this earth with his work, Ken Akamatsu. **

_Chapter 2: Breaking the Ties_

-Back at orochi laboratories-

Ran and Yuichi watched the projector screen in front of them intently as the last images of Hayato's visions replayed on it. Ran looked over to Yuichi who was uneasily fiddling with his thumbs, the sweat obviously trickling down the side of his face. The elderly scientist then turned to his laptop as he scanned the information being presented on its screen.

"So..." said Yuichi, breaking the uneasy silence. "Was that what i think it was?" Ran continued to scan the information on his laptop.

"Enhanced reflexes, muscular strength, mental capabilities, cell regeneration and heightening of all 5 senses" Ran thought to himself. "Yes it is" The scientist replied to yuichi's previous question.

"Hayato is remembering"

"Any ideas on how that might be possible?" asked Yuichi, frustration brimming in his voice "Considering you told me that all products would have their memories erased even before undergoing enhancements?!" Yuichi slammed his fist on the table out of frustration. Ran continued to type in his laptop as Yuichi waited on an answer. "Well?!" he prompted. With a sigh, Ran took off his glasses and massaged his temples. "The SPEARs have taken over".

"Well what the hell does that mean?!" said the confused CEO. "It means Yuichi, that Hayato is lost...the SPEARs have taken over whatever rational human part that was left of him." said Radius as he continued to lie back in his chair.

"What we have now is a cold, calculating, killing machine on the loose and absolutely no means to stop it."

"Well that still doesnt explain how the hell he's still remembering the things YOU were supposed to remove!" Yuichi exclaimed as Radius looked at him and enjoyed every muscle on his face that twitched with frustration. The scientist smiled. "I could never remove Hayato's memories, doing so would permanently damage his brain." Ran said "Instead, I inserted surgical barriers in his brain to prevent the synapses from accessing the parts where his memories were stored"

"To make up for the loss of his ability to retain information, I put in cybernetic memory banks where we programmed him with everything he knows now, fighting styles, weapons training, battle tactics, the works." the elderly scientist continued "The SPEARs were designed to seek out and correct any anomalies and malfunctions in Hayato's system."

"They must've diagnosed the barriers as foreign objects then dissolved them once they took over." Ran stepped away from yuichi as he took another look at the projector screen. Hayato was still motionless as Yuichi pulled out his celphone and speed dialed a number.

"Hello? This is mister Shinomori" he said as radius eavesdropped. "Assemble a team of your best men and ready the choppers" the CEO said. "Authorization to use live ammuniton granted" Radius' eyes widened as he heard yuichi say this. "He can't be serious" he said to himself. "Shoot to kill captain" Yuichi finally said as he relayed the coordinates of the target soon after. It was the warehouse Hayato's unconscious body was presently located.

"Don't do this Yuichi" he said to the CEO "I'm doing the right thing" said Yuichi without any sign of hesitation in his voice.

"You're sending lambs to the slaughter!" Radius excalimed. "Last time I checked your ultimate killing machine was unconscious and lying on the floor of that warehouse." Yuichi rebutted. "My men have handled worse"

"This is another mistake you will regret making Yuichi" Radius said as he held the CEO's gaze. Yuichi smiled as he reached behind his jacket and pulled out a silver snub nosed revolver and pointed it at radius.

"The only mistake I regret was not killing you earlier." the gunshot echoed throughout the empty laboratory as Radius staggered back, pain blossoming in his left shoulder. "Dammit, and I was aiming for the heart too." said Yuichi as radius used the table to support himself. The scientist clutched his bleeding shoulder as he caught a glimpse of his laptop on the other end of the table. His brain went a mile a minute as he rummaged through his head for a way to save himself and Hayato.

"That's it" he said to himself as he saw Yuichi's trigger finger squeeze the trigger once more. "That should give Hayato enough time." Radius' eyes narrowed, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he made a leap for the other end of the table. The bullet left the chamber and only managed to graze his left leg as he slid across the steel surface and grabbed his laptop.

He ducked behind the table as Yuichi let loose three more shots. The shots sank into the reinforced table as Radius fingers blurred at the insane speed he was typing in his laptop. Just as he finished typing the commands, he felt the barrel of the snub nosed pistol press itself against the side of his head. "Goodbye Radius" said Yuichi as he squeezed the trigger.

The scientist smiled as he hit the "ENTER" key before hearing the gunshot errupt and have everything fade to black.

-back at the warehouse-

Hayato's crimson eyes shot wide open as he heard the sound of chopper blades coming from outside. He sat up and scanned his surroundings like a newborn. The platinum haired boy's head snapped upward as he heard the glass break and four heavily armed men rappelled down on thick black cords. Hayato squinted as his vision zoomed in on the insignia stitched onto their sleeves. It was a red dragon eating its own tail with the kanji "orochi" at its center.

"Orochi..." Hayato read as his SPEARs flashed the memory of the firing squad back in his head. The boy's eyes narrowed as he spotted his twin pistols lying on the ground. "Orochi..." he repeated as the men touched down on the ground and trailed their M4A1 assault rifles at him. "Take him out" the captain ordered as he turned off the safety on his assault rifle and open fired. Hayato responded by dashing towards his gold plated .45's as the gunfire kicked up the dust in his wake.

Hayato rolled on the floor as he picked the twin pistols up and proceeded to dash towards cover. The boy leapt behind some crates while firing at the hit squad. He managed to nail one with 4 shots to the chest before he landed on the floor at the same time as the soldier's body collapsed. Hayato could hear the man gasping for air but the holes in his lungs made that pretty hard to do. The gasping stopped and Hayato peeked out of his cover to empty the remnants of his last two clips onto two more men.

The top halves of the his pistols locked themselves backwards as four more men rapelled down to the warehouse floor. Hayato holstered his pistols as he dashed towards the men sent to kill him. The men open fired as they saw the silver haired boy approach.

Only silver streaks could be seen as Hayato moved at inhuman speed, digging his left fist into the abdomen of the man closest to him. He followed that with an elbow to the back of the head just as the soldier leaned forward due to the impact of Hayato's previous blow. He smiled as he heard vertebrae snap.

Hayato caught the man's assault rifle before it hit the ground and did a dive roll out of the remaining four men's line of fire. The silver haired boy ended up on his back as he emptied his M4A1 on the remaining four, the 5.56mm NATO rounds making quick work of their kevlar vests. Hayato stood up as everyone else around him fell and began to collect magazines and grenades for the attached M203 grenade launcher from his fallen enemies. Stuffing all of them in his jacket pockets and reloading, he slung the rifle on his shoulder and made his way out of the warehouse.

Outside, blinding gusts of wind met the silver haired boy as 2 choppers hovered low and aimed their search lights at him. Hayato's silver hair reflected their light as the boy dashed towards the streets. The choppers pursued their target along with their 60mm vulcans mounted underneath. Dust and shattered pieces of pavement kicked up in Hayato's wake as the boy zoomed in on the road before him. In the distance hayato saw a motorist riding a black Ducati 749.

Hayato burst into a full sprint towards the motorist with the choppers and their 60mm bullets in close pursuit. As the bike reared into view, Hayato smiled as he reached out his right hand at the approaching motorist. Because of the present speed both Hayato and the motorist were moving at, the biker did not notice that Hayato had grabbed onto his leather jacket and had slung him onto the back seat of the roaring black motorcycle.

"Holy shit!" the biker exclaimed as he saw the two choppers coming at him. He was even more shocked to see a crimson eyed boy sitting behind him. "I need your vehicle" the boy said. "Huh?!" the biker replied as Hayato grabbed onto his jacket and tossed him off the bike. The biker tumbled on the pavement behind Hayato as he took control of the handlebars and twisted it full throttle.

The bike rocketed towards the two choppers as Hayato reached behind him for his M4A1, bullets whizzing over his head all the while. Hayato passed through the gap in between the two choppers and immediately squeezed the brakes just as he was about to pass them. The bike powerslided and made a 180 degree turn as Hayato immediately emptied his clip onto the tail rotor of one chopper. Not having done enough damage, the rotor simply wobbled but stayed on.

Hayato quickly pulled out a grenade from his pocket and loaded the attached M203 grenade launcher. Without hesitation he fired the grenade at the tail rotor, the resulting explosion causing it to break off completely. The chopper's body started to spin without its tail rotor to balance it. It ended up slammming into its companion and exploding into a giant fireball of twisted metal.

Hayato sped away in his newly aquired bike as explosions rocked the road behind him. The boy glanced to a fleeting street sign which said "HINATA HOT SPRINGS TOWN 7KM". The bike rocketed forward as Hayato twisted the throttle to its maximum.

"WELCOME TO HINATA HOT SPRINGS! ENJOY YOUR STAY!" read a sign as Hayato sped past it. The town was sound asleep as he made his way down the streets. And while the SPEAR nanomachines were busy keeping their host body safe, deep inside his subconscious, Hayato sat down in a black void as he examined the area around him for the hundredth time.

"Black...nothing but black" the boy said glumly to himself as he rummaged through his still jet black hair. "First few hours of my life and i get trapped inside my own head" he said as he lay on his back and gave out a sigh.

"Great...just great!" he threw his arms in the air and let them fall back to the ground as he stared into the black void. A small speck of light caught hayato's eye amidst the blackness of his surroundings. "What the hell?" the boy said to himself as he focused on the light. It started to grow brighter and larger by the second as a familiar ringing noise started to grow louder and higher.

"Oh shit" hayato said as he braced himself for the pain he knew was about to come. The pain shot through his body once more as Hayato grabbed his aching skull. He screamed as the light engulfed him. As quickly as it came however, the light abruplty turned off along with the pain and the irritating ringing noise as Hayato the felt the wind on his face. He could smell the night air; feel his hair fluttering behind him and felt two rubbery handles under his palms.

Still a bit disoriented and confused, Hayato heard a bell that continuously tolled as it grew louder and louder. He opened his eyes and what he saw before him made him realize that more pain was yet to come. The Hinata trolley was making its last trip around town and Hayato, in his present state of disorientation, managed to swerve into its path and was now in a head on collision course with it.

"Damn…" was all he could say as even his enhanced reflexes did little to change his present heading. "Telekinetic shields on!" he screamed in his head as what was left of his nanomachines turned his shields on. Hayato squeezed the brakes as he felt steel crash with steel and himself collide with other people still on the trolley. The shield managed to protect him as he smashed through the now hulking carcass of steel which was once the Hinata trolley but his mind could only take so much. He grinded against the unforgiving pavement with his shields giving in after a few more seconds of brutal punishment.

Without his shields, the boy was left to fend for himself. Grinding against the rough asphalt, Hayato's jacket was left a torn and tattered mess, his ammunition spilling into the pavement behind him, as was his forehead, most of his left torso and left leg. The boy laid there a couple of minutes as he let his regeneration kick in. A few more minutes and the wounds were now healed but still very sensitive. Hayato limped away as he picked up the sounds of sirens coming from the oppostie direction.

The boy managed to slip into a series of alleyways which brought him to a very high flight of steps. Sitting himself down on them, Hayato let out a deep sigh as his vision slowly dimmed. "I cant be dying now, can I?" he asked himself as he looked at the starry skies above him. Visions started to flood him again as he saw the two familiar faces once more, the firing squad, the symbol of the orochi behind him and once more he felt the pain of being shot continuously.

Everything quickly became too much for Hayato as he slowly drifted onto the plane of unconsciousness. His enhanced senses then picked up the smell of nicotine around him and it managed to keep him awake somehow.

"Who's smoking?" he asked as he looked around him, his vision very dim and blurry. "I am" replied the person Hayato couldn't make out anymore. He squinted and only managed to make out the words "Cafe Hinata" on the apron the person was wearing.

"Who the hell are you?" the person asked. "It's a woman" Hayato said to himself as he deduced it from her voice. "Koganei Hayato...who-who're...y.." he couldn't finish as his systems finally shut down after over exhaustion. His body went limp as his head fell back on the stone steps with a thud.

"Hey! You cant die here!" said the woman as she walked down to Hayato's unconscious body. She slapped him several times, causing the gashes on his forehead and face to reopen. "Dammit!" she said as she wiped the blood off her hand. She looked at the boy's pitiful state and took a deep drag from her cigarette. She exhaled the cancerous smoke with a reluctant sigh.

She quickly slung the boy over her shoulder as she made her way up the steps to Hinata Inn. "Guess, my smokes will have to wait" she said to herself. "I hope the girls are up to this though"

-Elsewhere-

"Damn you Aoyama!" Yuichi said as he punched the table with his right fist until several dents were visible on it. The young CEO clenched his teeth in frustration as Radius laptop continued to increase his already abundant supply of annoyance.

"SPEAR TRACKING SIGNAL LOST" the laptop displayed on its screen in bright, bold, red letters.

Yuichi sighed as he Ran his fingers through his slicked back hair, straightening any strand that went astray. "You truly are brilliant radius" he said as he watched his men haul off the scientist's lifeless body in a stretcher. Yuichi looked back at the laptop screen as a new window popping up caught his eye. The CEO scanned the smaller texts as his eyes locked on at the most significant statement from all the seemingly useless other information presented to him.

"MEMORY BANKS ERASURE HALTED AT 85 PERCENT DUE TO EMERGENCY"

Yuichi continued to reread that single line as he thought to himself.

"What were you planning Ran?" he asked himself.

to be continued...hopefully

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Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Please leave a comment, review, constructive criticism or even a flame if you want to. I greatly appreciate each and every comment, suggestion and opinion you can give. Thanks for your time! 


	3. Chapter 3: A New Life

**Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Its story and all of its characters belong to the greatest manga writer and illustrator ever to grace this earth with his work, Ken Akamatsu**.

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_Chapter 3: A New Life_

"Hayato!" a man's voice called out.

"Hayato wake up!" the same voice called out more urgently as Hayato opened his eyes. The flourescent lights above made him squint slightly as his eyes adjusted to the light. His vision was blurry, but clear enough to know that the man who was calling out to him was in front of him right now. Hayato squinted a bit more and his vision finally came back along with his other senses. The boy immediately knew why the man's voice was so urgent.

Hayato ducked as several bullets whizzed past, taking some chunks away from their eroding cover. The deafening sound of gunfire forced Hayato to cover his ears as he tried to get his bearings back. A stinging slap to the face made quick work of that. Hayato rubbed his sore cheek as he glared at the man who slapped him. "You..." Hayato said softly as he recognized the man from his visions the other night.

"Get a hold of yourself Hayato!" The man with long dark brown hair said as his only visible eye returned Hayato's glare. Hayato could only nod as he felt like this person was his superior by some degree. "We need to provide cover fire for little brother" The man continued as Hayato saw him reload his silver .44 Magnum revolver. "Can you handle that Hayato?" the man asked as he pulled the hammer of his revolver back. Hayato nodded in reply as he reflexively reached behind him for his weapons. He pulled out his twin gold plated .45 pistols as his eyes widened in shock. "Radius-san gave me these!" the boy said to himself.

Hayato snaped back to attention as the man with the revolver snapped his fingers in front of his face. "Stay with me brother" He said sternly as he peeked behind their cover. The bullets were slowly but surely taking sizable chunks away from it by the second as the man let out a grunt of frustration. "On three then." he said as he turned back to Hayato.

Hayato looked behind his shoulder to see another young man crouching behind him. This one was much younger than the one with the revolver and he had long blonde hair held back by a black bandana. "I know this kid too" Hayato thought once more. The young man looked up at him with his electric blue eyes and smiled eagerly as he clutched a satchel charge in his hands tightly. "One..." the man with the revolver started to count down as Hayato readied himself. "Two..." Hayato's eyes narrowed as he clutched his pistols tightly.

"Three!" the man's voice bellowed as all three of them leapt out of the deteriorating safety of their cover. Hayato aimed straight at where the gunfire was coming from but he never got the chance to see what he was aiming at. The muzzle flashes blinded him as the light grew in intensity. He could feel the pain of the bullets tearing through his skin and felt the pain. In a few moments, the white light had completely engulfed him and everything else just disappeared. No more pain, no more deafening gunfire and no more strangely familiar people slapping him in the face...just peace.

Hayato floated about the white light as he gave himself up to it. The light slowly subsided as Hayato settled down on his back. He could suddenly feel something soft behind hs head and he could feel some sort of cloth clutched in between his fingers. "A blanket maybe?" he thought to himself as he tried to shift around a bit. The floor he was lying on felt soft and so did the cloth draped over him.

Slowly, Hayato decided to open his eyes. Not even half opened yet and the boy was forced to clench his eyes shut by the blinding sunlight coming through the windows. He could feel its warmth on his face and he could hear the birds singing outside. The musty smell of old wood and varnish stung his nose a bit but he quickly got used to it. Once more he attempted to open his eyes, letting them adjust to the light for a few moments before opening them completely.

Once his eyes had fully adjusted, he was able to survey his surroundings. The first thing he saw was the wooden ceiling, then the paper lined, sliding doors and the hand painted wall scrolls. There were some empty bookshelves which were in need of dusting and a little desk by the window. Hayato looked outside through the window to see the blue morning sky with not a cloud in sight. He brought his hands out of the blanket as he attempted to brush the strands of hair on his face away when he saw them covered in bandages.

The memories of the other night started to flood his mind. Hayato remembered the men rapelling down the from the roof, M4A1's at the ready. He remembered the two choppers which opened fire with their 60mm gattling guns as he sped away on his mototrcycle. He clenched his eyes shut to in an attempt to shut them out but they kept coming. He remembered standing side by side with those two familiar men. Hayato remembered the insignia stitched on the sleeves of the men who were supposed to kill him and the glowing, red symbol on the wall behind the firing squad.

The visions subsided as Hayato opened his eyes. A single tear rolled down the side of his face as he clutched the cloth in his fingers. His knuckles started to turn white from how hard his fists were clenched. "Why?! Why would they do that to me?!" He thought as he let his rage explode in the confines of his subconscious. He pound his fists on the floor of the black void until his knuckles bled. "They were my family!" He thought as he flashed back to the eight men he killed in the warehouse and the two choppers he took down.

"Why would they want me dead?" He asked again as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Hayato sat down and let out a heavy sigh as he ran his fingers through his jet black hair. Gathering his thoughts and finally letting out another deep sigh, Hayato woke back up in the real world. "No more" He said finally. "I'm done with the Orochi"

Hayato let go off the blanket he was clutching earlier and looked out the window once more. "This is my chance" He said to himself. "My chance to start anew" He smiled as he watched a bird singing on a tree branch. "No more killing, no more fighting, no more Orochi" Hayato concluded with determination. "A new life" He said to himself as he inhaled deeply and let out a sigh of relief. "And this is where I'll start" he finished as he closed his eyes once more and imagined the new life he would be leading.

Just then, the door to his room slid open. "Ohaiyo Guzaimas Koganei-san, are you awake?" a sweet feminine voice politely asked before entering. Hayato was taken by surprise so he decided to just stay still and pretend to still be asleep. "Oh, I'll just leave your breakfast here then" she said as she walked closer to Hayato. "She sounds nice" he thought. Hayato could smell the delicious aroma of the breakfast the girl had prepared for him as he felt his mouth water and stomach grumble a bit.

"The morning air should do you good" the girl said as she noticed the closed windows of Hayato's room. She walked over to the window above Hayato's head and opened it, letting the fresh morning air in as well as the sounds of the birds chirping outside. "There, it's a beautiful morning Koganei-san" she said happily. Hayato opened his eyes and glanced upward wanting to see the face of this cheerful girl but got a "different" view of her instead.

Hayato saw a pair of flawless, creamy white legs. A little higher up and he saw the edges of the girl's brown mini skirt. The wind made sure that Hayato had an unobscured view should he dare look a little higher. He dared and saw the girl's white panties with a cute bear design. What caught his eye however was something written on the panties. Hayato had a little trouble reading it upsidedown but managed to read it nonetheless. "Me-mae-ha-ra, Shi-shi-no-bu?" he stupidly read out loud making the girl freeze. Hayato froze as well once he realized the supidity of his actions.

The girl turned around and looked at the silver haired boy with frightened blue eyes. Her short dark blue hair fluttered in the morning wind as she stared at Hayato who could only manage an embarrassed smile after what he had done. In her panic at what to do the girl decided to make a quick exit and headed straight for the door. She forgot that Hayato was still in her path and tripped on him, spilling his breakfast tray on the floor and ending up in a very "inappropriate position".

The blue haired girl was now on top of Hayato, her head down by Hayato's lap area and her legs straddled on his chest. To keep her from hitting her head on the floor, Hayato instinctively grabbed hold of her thighs and successfully prevented the said accident. Taking a moment to assess the present situation, the girl finally decided it was time to call for reinforcements. The sound of Hayato's breakfast tray crashing to the floor accompanied by the girl's scream made sure that the call reached the people it was meant for.

A few seconds later and the door to Hayato's room burst open as four stunningly beautiful women entered. "Shinobu, we heard your-OH MY GOD!" screamed a young woman with waistlength, auburn hair with two strands sticking out on top of her head like antennae. Hayato sawllowed hard as he saw a menacing red aura engulf the auburn haired beauty almost instantly.

"Pervert! You dare desecrate a maiden in her own home!?" screamed another woman followed by the sound of sharpened steel being unsheathed. Hayato saw a raven haired maiden in a white gi and red hakama holding a katana in her hands.

"That looks like fun!" squealed another female voice from behind the two enraged vixens. Hayato could barely see who it was as she bounced around the room before stopping to squat by the silver haired boy's face. "Can I go next?" The blonde foreigner asked as she stared into Hayato's dark brown eyes with her own vibrant green eyes. "Pleeeease?" She asked sweetly.

"Shinobu! Su! Step away from the pervert!" ordered the auburn haired young woman as she cracked her knuckles. The blue haired maiden and the hyperactive foreigner did as they were told and were taken away by another stunningly beautiful woman. She was a bit older than the two enraged maidens as her incredibly developed figure suggested. She had short grayish brown hair but her eyes she kept shut making her look like a fox. She flashed Hayato a devilish "You're-dead-now-buddy" grin as she comforted the crying blue haired maiden with one hand and restrained the hyperactive blonde with the other.

Hayato noticed a glint at the corner of his eye as his attention was drawn to the raven haired beauty's katana being raised high above her head. It glowed a faint blue as she brought it down with tremendous force while screaming "ZANMAKEN!" A red wave of condensed ki charged towards Hayato who was still lying down on the floor. The boy quickly rolled out of the way and got on all fours as the red wave of energy ravaged his futon and the wall behind it. The wall exploded and Hayato sweatdropped.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" the boy screamed as he stared at the gaping hole on the wall. He turned back to the two angry vixens and was shocked to see that the auburn haired girl's fist was already en route towards his face. Putting his arms up in defense, the impact of the punch sent him out through the hole in the wall and onto the roof. Feeling that his right forearm had been broken with that last punch, Hayato dug his left hand on the roof tiles to stop himself from being sent off the edge.

"Damn that girl can hit!" he noted mentally as he concentrated on repairing his broken arm. The bone had mended within a few seconds but it was still very badly bruised. "Something's wrong" he said to himself. "My arm should've been good as new by now" he said as he winced when he tried to stretch it out. Hayato then noticed that his shadow below him was getting bigger by the second. He instinctively looked up and saw the figure of a raven haired swordswoman against the morning sun as she descended, blade above her head.

Hayato backflipped out of the way of the raven haired samurai's descent as she smashed the roof tiling below her. Hayato had barely a second to react as the girl had already dashed up to him, her katana behind her as she swung it horizontally towards his head. The silver haired boy bent backwards as the katana missed his nose by a few millimeters. The girl followed with a quick thrust which would've impaled the boy had he not backflipped away once more.

"That's it, I'm taking that oversized kitchen knife of yours!" Hayato said as he scanned his databases for all of his disarming techniques. "You are welcome to try pervert!" The samurai girl snapped as she readied her katana in front of her. Hayato would've settled for the flashiest way to disarm her but now it was a case of actually finding a technique in his blank databases. "Where the hell did my fighting styles go?!" He screamed in his subconscious as his databases contiunally failed to supply him with any form of fighting technique whatsoever.

Swallowing his pride Hayato flashed the samurai a goofy grin. "On second thought, you can keep it!" He said as he dashed away from her and headed to the opposit side of the roof. "Come back here coward!" The samurai girl screamed as she gave chase. Hayato was forced to stop as the wall beside him exploded and revealed an auburn haired girl with her right fist outstretched. The boy backed away as she stepped through the hole and let her aura engulf her once more. Hayato felt something sharp poke his back and he immediately knew that the samurai had caught up with him.

"End of the line pervert!" the auburn haired grl said as she cracked her knuckles. Hayato swallowed hard as he looked around for a means of excape. He couldnt go back in the house as he was incapabled of tearing down walls like these girls so he decided that down was the best place to go. Hayato grinned as he dashed towards the auburn haired girl who cocked her fist back and prepared to send him into orbit. She sent her fist towards Hayato's face but the boy quickly ducked out of the way and continued to dash towards the end of the roof.

"You won' get away pervert! Zanmaken!" screamed the samurai as she sent an enormous wave of ki roaring towards Hayato. The silver haired boy looked behind him and saw the red wave of ki devastate everything in its path as it made its way towards him. Sprinting for all his legs were worth, Hayato leapt from the roof's edge as the wave of energy exploded behind him. Hayato tumbled and rolled on the stone floor of the house's courtyard as the explosion made him loose balance in his landing.

Feeling the pain of several broken ribs, a left arm and his left ankle, Hayato struggled to get up and headed away from the house. "I can't start a new life in a house full of psychos!" he thought as he limped away on his healed but still bruised ankle. He reached a long descent of stone steps and soon met face to face with yet another beautiful woman. "Please let her be sane" Hayato prayed as the woman with short black hair and dark brown eyes stared at him with a nearly unnoticeable look of surprise in her face. She wore a black apron with the words "Cafe Hinata" printed on it and a lit cigarette rested on her lips.

"Hello there" she said. "I didn't expect you to be up and running yet" Hayato raised his eyebrow at her words. "Do I know you?" he asked. "I brought you to this inn for some first aid when I saw you dying by these steps" she said. Hayato furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember. "And I see you've met the tenants" the woman said as she took another drag from her cigarette while looking over Hayato's shoulder. Hayato froze as he looked behind him and saw the five beautiful women from before lined up behind him.

"Haruka-san! That male is a shameless pervert!" said the samurai girl as she held her katana at the ready. Haruka raised her eyebrow and examined the boy's tattered and messy appearance from the beating he underwent. "Expound on that please" she asked calmly.

"Wait a minute, you know these psychos?" Hayato asked in terror. "I'm their housemother, Urashima Haruka" she said as Hayato's face paled. "I need to get of here!" Hayato screamed as he dashed past Haruka and down the steps. Haruka sighed as she pulled out a bullwhip from behind her and sent it towards the fleeing silver haired boy. With one fluid stroke, Haruka had caught Hayato by the ankles and then proceeded to drag him back up the steps.

Haruka loomed over the silver haired boy who covered his face with his arms in fear. "Please don't kill me" Hayato pleaded.

"I won't kill you if I don't have to" Haruka assured him. "But we need to talk" Haruka said calmly as she turned towards the 5 girls behind her. "You five, inside!" She snapped and the girls quickly complied. She then proceeded to drag Hayato back into the inn. The boy looked above at the clear blue morning sky and gave out a deep sigh.

"I'm screwed"

To be continued...hopefully

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I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I greatly appreciate each and every comment, suggestion and opinion you can give so please leave a review! Thanks for your time! 


	4. Chapter 4: Just the Way I Planned It

**Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Its story and all of its characters belong to the greatest manga writer and illustrator ever to grace this earth with his work, Ken Akamatsu**.

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_Chapter 4: Just the Way I Planned It_

Hayato blew the strands of silver hair from his face as he sat on the living room couch, his arms bound tightly to his sides by a thick rope the tenants had procured from somewhere he didn't know. He could feel the weight of the stares of the five pairs of eyes with him in the living room. He surveyed the faces of the female tenants sitting with him in the livng room as he planned his course of action.

"I could break free from this" He thought to himself "But I certainly can't fight my way out" His eyes focused on the raven haired swordsman and the auburn haired girl as he paled at the thought of him facing off against those two again. "Dammit, these enhanced muscles are useless with empty memory banks!" Hayato exclaimed within the confines of his subconscious. With a sigh, the silver haired boy let his head droop a little as they waited for Haruka to return from the kitchen.

"Are we gonna cook him or something?" Su asked happily as she clung onto the raven haired swordsman's back. "We'll see" the swordswoman replied coldly as she shot Hayato and equally cold glare. "I hope we cook something soon, I'm getting hungry" Su complained. Hayato shuddered slightly as he went back to his thoughts.

"I get kicked out of here, I'm screwed..." He thought glumly about what could happen should the Orochi find him in his weakened state. "I stay here and I'm still screwed" Hayato sweatdropped at the futility of his present situation. "What the hell do I do now?" He asked the heavens as he leaned back and let his head fall back on the couch. "Think, Hayato..." He ordered himself as he continued to search the ceiling for an answer. "There has to be a way out of this" Hayato closed his eyes as he thought of a means of maintaining his dreams for a new life. "That's it! His eyes shot wide open as a smile made its way across his face.

Hayato's celebration was cut short by the sound of porcelain tea cups clacking together slightly and the smell of freshly made tea making its way into the room as Haruka returned with a tray at hand. She set the tray down on the table in front of Hayato and sat down to the chair opposite him. Hayato sat back up properly as he met eye to eye with the stoic housemother. "So, Koganei Hayato, was it?" Haruka asked as she poured herself a cup of tea. "Yeah" Hayato replied with a nod. "Let's start with-" Haruka tried to continue but was interrupted.

"Why did you try to take advantage of Shinobu?!" The raven haired swordsman blurted out. "You were just pretending to be injured weren't you?!" Added the auburn haired girl. "This was your plan all along wasn't it?!" The swordsman accused once more before a loud whistle silenced both of them. "Motoko, Naru, calm down." Haruka snapped as she set her cup of tea down and turned back to Hayato who was a bit pale from the sudden string of accusations being flung at him.

"They don't like men too much" Haruka said somewhat apologetically. "I've noticed" the young man replied with a nervous smile. "Let's start with where you're from" Haruka said calmly as Hayato searched his mind. "I-I can't remember" Hayato said simply. Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Any relatives, friends, family who might know where you are right now?" Haruka asked once more. "None that I can recall." Hayato replied, furrowing his eyebrows as he sturggled to remember.

"Well what can you remember then?" Haruka asked. Hayato took a moment to gather his thoughts. "I do remember my name" He said as he continued to gather his thoughts. "I remember being on a trolley and then there was this guy on a bike who smashed through it" Hayato said. "I remember being knocked off the trolley and being found by you on the steps" Hayato continued. "But anything before that, I can't recall anymore" He finished with a slight shrug.

Silence setteled in the room as the seven of them waited on each other to resume the questioning. "That's pretty understandable I guess" Shinobu said softly. "You mean you believe this pervert?" Motoko immediately retorted. "Well, yes Motoko-senpai" Shinobu replied while playing with the edges of her skirt. "The trolley WAS trashed. It was on the news this morning so that much we're sure of" The fox-faced lady added. "Not you too Kitsune" Naru pleaded. "An accident like that would mess anyone up pretty good" Kitsune finished. "But he tried to take advantage of Shinobu!" Naru rebutted. "No I didn't!" Hayato immediately said in reply.

"About that" Haruka stared Hayato directly in the eye. "Care to explain what really happened?" She asked. "So long as none of you hit me midway through" Hayato requested nervously. With a nod from Haruka, Hayato explained his unfortunate accident with the blue haired maiden. After his story was approved by Shinobu herself and several questions from Su about "Straddle" being some sort of tasty pasrty, Naru and Motoko could do nothing but accept Hayato's apology.

"So where are you headed now Hayato-kun?" Haruka asked. "I umm...well, I don't know" Hayato replied with a shrug. "I was thinking if maybe I could-" Hayato would not be able to finish as a palm hitting the table stopped him midsentence. "I see where this is going!" Naru snapped. "You want to stay here don't you?!" She accused once more. Hayato nodded as he opened his mouth to reason but once more he was silenced by the auburn haired beauty.

"Forget it punk, this is an all-girls dorm!" She said as she crossed her arms and stared him down. "There's absolutely no way we're letting a male sleep here, right Haruka-san?!" Naru turned to Haruka who was rubbing her chin now. "Right?" The girl prompted her housemother who simply lit a cigarette and took a drag. "Right" Haruka replied simply. Hayato's head drooped once more as hope escaped him. "Dammit" He thought to himself.

"But..." Hayato's eyes widened with hope as he heard that single word from Haruka. He looked up eagerly at the woman. "I could use some extra help at the cafe" Haruka said. Hayato's smile slowly grew as he waited for the job offering. "Managing this place and the cafe at the same time is a lot of work" Haruka continued. "So how about it kid?" She asked Hayato with a faint smile on her lips.

"Does that mean I get to stay here then?" Hayato asked eagerly. "I can't make you sleep in the cafe now can I?" Haruka replied coolly. "You can't be serious Haruka!" Naru protested. "Naru-sempai is right! A man can't stay here!" Motoko added. The two angry maidens blurted out protest after protest until Haruka silenced them both with another ear splitting whistle. "QUIET!" Haruka bellowed. The two maidens shut up immediately.

"Unless any of you would like to volunteer with helping at the cafe, I'm hiring Hayato" Haruka said with a sense of finality. "But..." Motoko tired to speak but Haruka raised her index finger at her. "I'll fax Granny about it and see what she thinks" Haruka said. "If she doesn't like it, the kid sleeps somewhere else." Naru and Motoko's eyes lit up with hope. "But for now, he stays" Haruka said finally.

"Sweet!" Hayato said out loud as he wriggled about in joy. "Is that alright with everybody?" Haruka turned to the tenants who showed mixed feelings by their facial expressions. "Granny won't let you stay, I'm sure of it." Naru said with an indifferent shrug. "Yay! A new playmate!" Su squealed happily as she proceeded to bounce off the walls. Kitsune merely stood there with a devilish grin as she rubbed her chin. "She's up to something" Hayato thought to himself. "Welcome to Hinata sou Koganei-san" Shinobu said politely with a bow. "Thanks" he bowed back. The tenants along with Haruka turned to the only person left who has yet to voice out her opinion, Motoko Aoyama.

"I accept" Motoko said simply. Five eyebrows rose simultaneously at her reply. The tenants all knew she would never let a male even take breath anywhere inside the dormitory lest she commit sepukku herself. From all the men that have attempted, nearly all of them have been sent away in full body casts or with toe tags. Hayato saw the same look of anticiption plastered on all the tenants faces and began wondering himself.

"You cant be serious, not even a challenge for a duel?" Haruka thought to herself as she examined the swordsmistress face "But..." Motoko calmly added. "I knew it" Haruka said to herself as she rolled her eyes. "Here we go"

"You must best me in a duel first!" She said with determination in her voice. Hayato merely stared at her as he searched for a reply. "If you yield or are unable to last 5 minutes, you leave...no questions asked." She explained. "However, If by some sort of miracle you last 5 minutes, I'll even let you sleep with me in my room" She said confidently.

"Isn't that a bit extreme Motoko?" Kitsune asked as she scratched her head. "Not that I have anything against sleeping with you, but I am still a minor" Hayato added. The ground shook with the resulting facefault. "By 'sleep with me' I meant sleep in the same room as me you sick pervert!" Motoko snapped as her cheeks changed into a bright pink hue. "And by 'extreme' I meant that there might not be enough left of you for DNA matching after 5 minutes, kiddo" Kitsune added as she dusted herself off.

"Oh" Hayato said as he thought about his options once more. "I guess I could last 5 minutes with my regenrative abilities" he thought to himself. "But they have been fluctuating lately so I can't really count on them like I used to" He faced Motoko as he asked. "What if I don't accept?"

"Then you are spineless coward" She said coldly with a glare to match. Hayato thought about it for a while then finally looked Motoko straight in the eye and replied without hesitation. "I can live with that." He grinned "I don't accept the challenge!" The resulting facefault registered a 5.2 on the richter scale as Hinata sou was shook to its foundations. Haruka was the first to get up. "Clever." She commented as she tossed her bent cigarette away and lit herself a new one. "But I'm not letting a wuss stay in this dormitory let alone work in my cafe" She concluded.

"Take it or leave it kid" Haruka said with a sense of finality in her tone. Hayato sighed as he looked to his toes for an answer. "So I accpet the challenge and get my ass kicked..." He said glumly. "...Or I don't accept and I get the boot anyway?" He said as he looked at each of the tenants. "Yeah, pretty much" Naru said quite happily. "I wanna see a fight!" Su squealed energetically. "I got money on Motoko" Kitsune said with a devilish grin. "But-but..." Shinobu tried to reason out but she decided to blush instead.

"Well that isn't much of a choice now is it?" Hayato said as he sighed and let his head droop. "But it is still a choice" He said as he looked Motoko straight in the eye once more. "I accept your challenge" Hayato said with a hint of determination in his voice.

"Hmph...You're already dead" Naru said as she chuckled slightly. "Wohoo! Fight! Fight!" Su squealed as she bounced around the room. "When do we begin?" Motoko asked Haruka who was busy taking a drag from her cigarette. Haruka looked at Hayato and let a faint smile reach her lips. "At least let the kid have his last meal" She said as she leaned against her chair. "You start after lunch"

"Brilliant, now could someone please get me out of these?" Hayato asked as he wriggled about in his bindings. A bright flash caught his eye as Motoko drew Shisui with lightning fast speed and with one quick stroke, sliced the rope in half. The sliced pieces of rope fell to the ground as Hayato stretched his arms out. "Thanks" He said to the swordmistress as he bowed slightly. "Hrmph" Motoko said as she turned away from the silver haired boy.

"Well...I guess proper introductions are now in order" Haruka said as she clapped her hands together. "I'm Urashima Haruka, nice to have you aboard kid" She extended her hand to Hayato who took it. "Thanks Haruka-san" He said with a bow of his head. "Narusegawa Naru, I don't like you nor trust you in anyway so stay away from me and my friends" The auburn haired beauty said coldly. "A pleasure, Narusegawa-san" Hayato said politely. "I hope I can change how you think about me" He said with a polite bow.

"Konno Mitsune, Kitsune for short" The foxfaced lady said with a mischievous grin. "Nice to meet you Kitsune-san" Hayato said with yet another bow. Something colliding with his torso shook Hayato off balance for a second before the said "thing" constricted around his ribcage like a vice. "Su Kaoalla! Let's play!" The energetic foreigner with blonde hair and green eyes squealed as she gave Hayato one of her signature bear hugs. "Nice to meet you Su-chan" Hayato said as he forced a smile through the searing pain in his lungs and patted her on the head. Hayato's dark brown eyes met with the blue-haired maiden's dark blue eyes.

"Ah, Maehara-san" Hayato said with a bow of his head. "I am sorry for what happened earlier" He said as he bowed even lower. "U-um, it wasn't entirely your fault I guess." She said a bit nervously. "I hope we can still be friends" Hayato said with a cheerful smile. "Su-Sure!" Shinobu stuttered as her cheeks changed into a slight pinkish hue. Hayato turned to the only one he hadn't received an introduction from. "And what might your name be my lady?" Hayato asked politely to the raven haired swordswoman. The young woman stared at him and replied. "Aoyama Motoko" She said coldly. "Enjoy your life while it lasts" She said as she turned towards the stairs leading to the upper floors.

Hayato's eyes widened at the mention of her surname. "Aoyama" He thought to himself. "Could she be..." He pondered as he bowed. "Nice to meet you Aoyama-san" His eyes narrowed as he followed her movements. "This complicates things slightly." He said to himself.

"Think you can remember all of that, kid?" Haruka asked as she lit herself another cigarette. "I hope so" The boy replied with a smile. "You're free to do what you have to do for now, lunch is at 12:30" Haruka said as the rest of the tenants dispersed to do their own personal activities. "Does that mean I can go exploring?" Hayato said quite eagerly. "Go nuts, as long as you don't tick anyone off." Haruka said wih a chuckle. "Remember, you're on shaky ground with the tenants as is" Hayato nodded and gave her a thumbs up and a grin.

Haruka was headed for the door when she heard Hayato speak. "Thanks for sticking up for me Haruka-san" Hayato bowed at the waist. "I greatly appreciate your help" Haruka chuckled slightly. "You're one tough kid" She said as she ruffled Hayato's hair. "And I look forward to bossing you around at the cafe" She said as she exitted the room.

Haruka pulled the door but did not close it completely. She left a small gap where she was able to spy Hayato stretching himself out on the sofa. "There's more to this kid that what he's letting on." She said to herself as she continued to watch Hayato who merely lay down on the sofa and stare at the ceiling. "Maybe I'll find something out when he duels Motoko" She said to herself as she proceeded to make her way out of the dormitory.

She stepped outside into the morning sunshine as she shielded her eyes from the sun's blinding rays. Making her way down the steps and into her small cafe, she went straight to the back of the counter and pushed a secret panel. A compartment underneath the cash register slid open and Haruka pulled out the second in a series of drawers. Inside lay two goldplated .45 semi automatic pistols. She ran her fingers against the identical engravings of dragons wrapping around the sides as she thought to herself. "He's hiding something" she said to herself as she picked up the pistols. "And I'll find out what it is"

-Back at Hinata-sou-

Hayato gazed at the ceiling as he gave out a sigh of relief. "They completely fell for it" He said to himself as he couldn't help but chuckle. "The amnesia act worked out splendidly" He said to himself as he continued to smile contently. "Aside from that girl possibly being related to that bastard scientist...things are looking pretty good." He said quite happily. "But I'll still have to stay on my toes if I'm going to play this right" He remided himself as he sat back up.

"This new life just might work out" Hayato said finally as he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the birds chirping outside. "Just the way I planned it."

-Elsewhere-

Ran Aoyama eraned the nickname "Radius" in his youth because of his very short temper. Not only was he a brilliant scientist but he was also an accomplished master of the Shinmeiryuu. And when his temper flared, no one could stand within a 5 meter radius of him without needing a full body cast immediately after. Memories of his past resurfaced as he lay in a bed covered in white sheets. He remembered his wife, Haruna, his son Toshiro, his two favorite nieces and finally his three adopted sons.

He remembered how each of them was taken away from him. He remembered his wife's screams as she was shot to death by Orochi soldiers, how he cradled his son's dead body as blood oozed from the boy's forehead. He remembered waving to the two little girls, both with silky black hair, as he was banished from their ancestral home. He remembered watching the security tape of his three adopted sons being shot by a squad of the Orochi's elite soldiers. In the end, only the sickening laughter of the man he loathed the most replayed in his mind.

He opened his eyes, trying to escape the torture of listening to Yuichi's sick laughter. He was met by the smell of morphine and the blinding white of his surroundings. "I'm...alive?" The elderly sciendtist asked as he tried to get up. The pain rushed towards his head as he was forced to lay still. "Indeed" replied an all too familiar voice.

Radius' eyes darted toward the source of the voice as his eyes narrowed at the sight of the source of all his pain. "You..." He said softly. "You never cease to amaze Aoyama" Yuichi Shinomori continued as he moved closer to Radius' bed.

"You bring the dead to life." Radius clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"You create the ultimate killing machine" Radius palms now bled with how hard he was clenching his fists.

"And you can stop a bullet from penetrating your skull at point blank range" Yuichi stopped by the left side of Radius' bed. "And you were right about the product as well" Yuichi continued as he brought out a folder from behind him. "The unit singlehandedly decimated our-" The young CEO could not finish as Radius' left hand shot up and grabbed Yuichi by the neck. His grip tightened like a vice as his eyes burned with seething hatred for the man in front of him.

"You die now" Radius murmured, each syllable dripping with venom. "Hayato-alive...In Hinata...Motoko!" Yuchi forced the words out of his constricted throat the best he could and the name "Motoko" seemed to take effect. Radius loosened his grip as he heard the name of his beloved neice. "No...you can't...She's Shinmeiryu." The scientist said as Yuichi was busy gagging and rubbing his neck. After a few moments of violent coughing Yuichi finally straightened himself out again. "You can't touch her...she's with the Shinmeiryu" Radius replied confidently.

"Is that so?" Yuichi asked with a devilish grin as he tossed a brown envelope onto Ran's lap. The scientist opened it and pulled out several pictures. His eyes widened as he scanned through them. "Wh-where did you get these?" He asked Yuichi as he could not believe his eyes. "You underestimate the power of Sattelite Technology Doctor Aoyama" Yuichi replied. "Motoko" Radius whispered as he gazed lovingly at the young woman in the pictures. Dressed in her red and white training uniform, she was practicing on the roof of what seemed like a huge, old-fashioned house.

"As you can see, Motoko isn't so in touch with the Shinmeiryuu at the moment" Yuichi said. "Just how good do you think is Motoko with that oversized meat cleaver, hm?" He asked menacingly. "Can she hold her own against several highly trained and heavily armed men?" Yuichi asked. "Or how about the prototypes...how do you think she'll fare against them, hm?" Radius eyes darted towards Yuichi's direction. "What do you want?" Radius asked reluctantly.

"I want our prodigal son to return...by his own will or otherwise" Yuichi said in a dark tone. "But-" Radius tried to reason out but ws cut off. "I know you have some sort of tracking on him other than the SPEARs" Yuichi said. "And I want you to use each and every connection you have, to bring the product back" He said with a sense of finality in his tone. "Do this and I promise Motoko's safety, you have my word" Yuichi said as he headed for the exit.

"Where did the signal last transmit from?" Radius asked. Yuichi paused and took a look at his folder before replying. "Somehwere in the outskirts of Tokyo" the CEO replied. "Good, he's out of the Orochi's power base" Radius thought. "I will bring him back." the scientist said. "Just don't hurt my niece" Radius pleaded.

"Agreed" Yuichi said as he exitted.

Once his boss was out of his room, Radius closed his eyes and thought of what he would do next. "I have to make sure Motoko is safe first" He thought. "And I still have to prepare my 'special gift' for Hayato" The scientist sighed at his predicament. This happened too many times before. History was repeating itself for the elderly scientist. "I'll have about a week to get things in proper order" He thougt to himself. "Hayato will be ready by then"

"I won't be a victim of your plans again Yuichi" he thought

"Never again"

To be continued...hopefully

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I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I greatly appreciate each and every comment, suggestion and opinion you can give so please leave a review! Thanks for your time! 


	5. Chapter 5: Rashinban

**Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Its story and all of its characters belong to the greatest manga writer and illustrator ever to grace this earth with his work, Ken Akamatsu**.

_A/N: Just to make things clear, Hayato is not a self-insert and neither is he there to replace Keitaro._

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_Chapter 5: Rashinban_

"Sir, you really shouldn't be moving yet!" the worried nurse called out but the plea fell upon deaf ears. Ran Aoyama wobbly made his way out of his room and into the hall of the Orochi Laboratory's Infirmary. "I cannot waste any more time" he thought to himself as he urged his legs to keep moving. "I need to find Hayato and get him his 'present'" he thought as he exitted the confinement area and entered the reception area.

Radius was now walking briskly towards his office. The anesthesia had worn off and his muscles were now at normal working condition. Once inside his office, the scientist immediately turned on his computer and began typing in some commands. Several windows popped up on his screen and his eyes darted from window to window as he continued to type at blurring speed. After a few more minutes, Radius had finally ceased his mad frenzy at the keyboard.

He smiled as the screen showed its results. "SPEAR emergency reactivation at 5 percent" He quickly switched to another window and started to type in even more commands. The window was entitled "Sentient, Intuitive and Empathetic Research and Regulation Application" He smiled once more as he clicked the "Enter" key. Several seconds later and the screen flashed the words "Applicaton Installation Complete"

"Quite busy for a man who just took a bullet to the head" Yuichi said as he entered Radius' office. "There is much to do" The scientist replied simply. "Indeed there is" Yuichi replied as he crossed his arms and observed the elderly scientist in front of him. "Do you want to know where Motoko is right now?" Radius glared at the young CEO. "I don't need to from you" He replied coldly. Yuichi raised his eyebrow. "Like you said Yuichi, I have my connections" Radius smiled as he stood up and exitted his office.

-back at Hinata-sou-

"Damn this place is huge." Hayato said as he sat down in one of the corridors of the vast inn. "I can't believe only 5 women live here" He said as he sat down for a while to catch his breath. He looked at the sky and noticed that it was almost noon. "I guess lunch should be ready by now" the silver haired boy said as he stood up and retraced his steps.

One of the doors slid open slightly as Hayato passed it and from the gap peeked a single brown eye. It followed his movements as it narrowed with suspicion. "I'm watching you Koganei" Naru said from behind the sliding door as Hayato conitnued to head back to the living room. Naru was surprised as the silver haired boy suddenly paused. "What's he doing?" she asked herself as Hayato brought his hand to his forehead. "Agh dammit!" She heard him say as he fell to his knees. "hrgh...Damn you Doctor Aoyama" She heard him say as the silver haired boy stuggled to get back to his feet.

"Did-did he just say-" Naru said as her eyes widened. "Doctor Aoyama?" Her suspicion grew as she shut her door and gathered her thoughts. She heard him say some more things but they were no longer audible through her shut door. "He said Aoyama" Naru repeated. "He can't be related to Motoko can he?" She pondered. "He said he can't remember anything...unless..." She opened the door again and spied on Hayato as the boy shook his head.

Hayato shook his head once more and blinked several times, making sure that his sudden headache was gone. "I must be hungry or something" He thought as he shrugged it off and continued to walk. Unbeknownst to him, Naru was still spying on him and had heard all she needed to feed her suspicion. "He's hiding something, he has to be" She concluded as she shut her door once more. "I should warn Motoko" She decided as she got up and waited for Hayato to leave before leaving her room as well.

-On the roof of Hinata-sou-

Motoko sat on the wooden floor in her meditative position as she cleansed her mind of distractions and attained inner peace. She let the feeling of calmness and contentment wash over her until she heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Motoko-han" the voice called out. "Aneue?" She replied as she searched her inner sanctum for her sister. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she tunrned around, seeing face to face with her older sister Tsuruko.

"Motoko-han, I've news for you" she said with a gentle smile. "What is it Aneue? Are you alright? Has something happened to the school?" Motoko inquired worriedly. "Shh...calm down sister, it is good news" Her older sister assured her as she gave her a hug. "An old friend contacted me today" Tsuruko said as she handed Motoko a piece of paper. Motoko's eyes widened as she read whom the letter was from. "From uncle?!" Motoko happily inquired. "Yes Motoko-han, he wishes to ask a favor of us" Tsuruko explained carefully.

"Uncle Ran wanted me to give this to you" Tsuruko handed Motoko a katana in an elegant black sheath. A red strip of cloth was wrapped around the part of the sheathe where it met with the crossguard. White tassels hung from the end of the sword's hilt and Motoko grasped it. Its hilt was wrapped with white cloth in such a way that the black shark skin underneath was visible thgrough diamond shaped gaps.

"Its name is Rashinban" Tsuruko said as she put her hand on Motoko's shoulder once more. "Thank you aneue, it is beautiful" Motoko bowed. "Should I return Shisui to you then?" Motoko asked. Tsuruko smiled as she chuckled slightly. "You could, but what would you train with then? Rashinban is not for you Motoko-han" Tsuruko said as she patted Motoko on the head. "What? Then who is this for then?" Motoko asked. "It is for Uncle Ran's son, He believes your paths might cross somehow" Tsuruko replied with a smile.

"But his son is-" Motoko said but she could not finish as Tsuruko disappeared. Motoko opened her eyes and discovered Rashinban in her hands. "His son is dead" Motoko said but there was no one to hear her. "Why must you always toy with me aneue?" she sighed as she got up and went back inside the house.

She hung Rashinban in her sword stand inside her room as she marveled at its elegance. "It is beautiful" She said to herself as she tried to remember how Ran looked like. "It's been such a long time uncle" She thought. "Motoko-sempai?" Shinobu called out from the other side of Motoko's door "Lunch is ready" the blue haired maiden said and Motoko grinned. "My duel nears" She said as she took Shisui from its stand. "And so does that pervert's demise" She said menacingly. "I'll be right there Shinobu-chan, thank you" She replied as she strapped Shisui to her waist.

"Motoko?" the swordmistress heard another person call out to her from the other side of the door. "Naru-sempai?" she replied as she slid her door open. The auburn haired girl's face showed distress as Motoko let her sempai into her room. "There's something I need to tell you" Naru said as she looked Motoko staight in the eye. "What is it Naru-sempai?" She asked. "It's about that Koganei kid..."

-In the dining area-

Two seats were suspiciously empty as the tenants and Hayato sat down at the table to eat. "Where's Motoko and Naru?" Kitsune asked in between bites. "I don't know" Shinobu said with a slight shrug. "I called both of them to lunch and they both said they'd be down here" The blue haired maiden said with a slight tone of worry in her voice. "More for me then!" Su sqeualed happily as she proceeded to stuff her face with food. Hayato was too busy stuffing his face as well to listen to what the girls were saying but he did catch the part about Motoko not being there.

"Does that mean Aoyama-san forfeits the match?" Hayato happily inquired. "You're not getting off the hook that easily kiddo" Kitsune said with a mischeivous grin. Quick footsteps could later be heard approaching the dining area as moments later, the door slid open to reveal a Motoko clutching an unsheathed Shisui in one hand and another sword, Rashinban, strapped to her waist. She had tied her hair into a pony tail and a bandanna on her forehead. She had also tied the sleeves of her gi back so that they were shorter.

"Evil Spirit! Prepare to be vanquished!" She bellowed at Hayato who merely stared at her with his chopsticks still his mouth. "Um, Motoko, what are you doing?" Kitsune asked as she sweat dropped. "Yeah, I thought the duel was after lunch" Hayato said as he stood up. "Are you guys starting the fight now?!" Kaoalla asked as she latched onto Hayato. "Get away from him Su!" Naru said as she stepped out from behind Motoko. "He's not human!" Naru bellowed.

"What?" Hayato and Kitsune asked in unison. "You must've been studying too long girl, all that knowledge's fried your brain" Kitsune said as she crossed her arms. "No Mitsune-san, it is true" Motoko added. "This boy is not who he appears to be."

"Dammit how did they find out?!" Hayato thought at he gnashed his teeth. "Radius must've told them" He concluded. "I knew those two were related somehow" he said as he tried to figure out a way out this predicament.

"My sister came to me while I was meditating and asked me to hold onto this sword for our uncle's son" Motoko said as she took Rashinban from her waist while holding Shisui at the ready with the other hand. "She said that he was already among us as well" Motoko cotinued. "But from what I know, my cousin died five years ago" Motoko said finally.

"So you're saying that..." Shinobu's face paled. "Hayato-kun is-is..." She couldn't finish as she was lost for words once she realized how odd that the boy in front of her had silver waistlength hair. "He is my cousin's lost spirit!" Motoko finished the sentence for Shinobu.

"Thank God!" Hayato thought with an inward sigh of relief. "My secret's still safe" He thought. "Now I just need to play along with this"

"And as a student of the Shinmeiryu is it my duty to vanquish you! Cousin or not" She said as she tossed Rashinban towards Hayato. The boy caught it by its sheath and merely observed what was transpiring before him. "You people are crazy" He concluded as he scanned the frightened faces in front of him.

"BOO!" Hayato bellowed suddenly making the girls step back and a few shrieks came from Shinobu and Naru. "I can't believe this!" Hayato said as he could no longer control his laughter. "Foul Spirit, you have your sword, now leave!" Motoko said sternly. "You mean this?" Hayato said as he brought the sword to his eyes. "It's a pretty sword but you can have it if you think you can make me leave with just this" Hayato said happily. "So, this doesn't settle your unfinished business?" Motoko astoundedly asked. "Nope, I still need a-" Hayato could not finish as Motoko started to charge Shisui with a faint blue glow.

"Then I shall purge you from this place!" Motoko bellowed as the rest of the tenants hid behind her. "Oh shit not this again" Hayato said as he looked for cover. "ZANMAKEN!" The roar of condensed ki making its way towards him made Hayato instinctively stay still. "Hey wait a mi-" He thought how stupidly he looked standing in front of a roaring wave of ki but did not have enought time to react as he was blasted out of the house by the tremendous force the attack generated.

Hayato rolled on the stone floor of the Hinata-sou's courtyard as he clutched his chest and groaned in pain. Several ribs were broken and his healing factor had seemingly gone on vacation. "Dammit!" He cursed as he struggled to get up. Breathing caused immense pain in his sides to course through his body so all he could do was to stay still. Hayato spotted the sword Motoko tossed him a few inches away. The boy reached out to it and grabbed it by the hilt.

Almost immediately after his skin came into contact with the hilt, a cool sensation started to spread from his hand then to his spine and finally to the rest of his body. He felt his ribs set back into place as the searing pain died down. He felt revitalized as he stood up and drew the sword from its sheath. The magnificently crafted sword reflected the sunlight as from inside Hayato's head a friendly feminine voice called out. "Hello Daimyo"

-Elsewhere-

A man with large rectagular galsses wearing a white longsleeved shirt with folded sleeves and baggy pants stopped by a long flight of stone steps. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he adjusted the bag he had slung across his chest. "This is the place, I'm sure of it" He reassured himself as he started climbing the long flight of stone steps. "I just hope granny can let me stay here for free, I'm freakin broke" He said glumly.

-Back at the Dormitory courtyard-

"Who the hell are you?!" Hayato thought, hoping that the voice inside his head would hear his question. "I'm your backup" The feminine voice said happily. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" He demanded as he tried to analyze what was happening. "Questions come later, right now you're in quite a fix daimyo" the voice said to him. "Radius-sama also wanted me to tell you that he has everything under control." Hayato's eyes widened and the anger was evident in his face as he heard that name.

The tenants viewed Hayato's erratic actions as they peeped from the new portal Motoko had created through the kitchen wall. "What's he doing?" Kitsune asked. "He's probably trying to bond his soul to the sword." Motoko said as she stepped out of the new hole in the wall. "I've heard of cursed blades before, the results are never pretty" Motoko said as her eyes narrowed.

"What do we do?" Naru asked nervously as they continued to watch the silver haired boy stand entranced at the sword in his hand. "I will vanquish him" Motoko said with determination in her voice. "It is my duty as a student of the Shinmeiryu" She picked up the pace as the swordsmistress headed towards Hayato. "I wanna see how this turns out" Kitsune said. "Me too!" Su squealed. "Go get Haruka, Shinobu" Naru said as the three older tenants headed towards Motoko. "Huh?" Shinobu said as she was left alone behind the gaping hole in the kitchen.

-Meanwhile-

Hayato rolled to the side, dodging another roaring wave of red ki as it ravaged everything unfortunate enough to stray in its path. The boy panted as silver strands of hair clung onto his forehead because of sweat. "Lunge at her, now!" The voice inside his head ordered him but he knew otherwise. "I lunge in and she lets out another one of those red wave things" Hayato said subconciously. "Just do as I say!" The voice ordered. "Shut up!" Hayato said out loud much to the surprise of Motoko.

"You dare inslut me foul spirit?!" Motoko said angrily. "I shall put your in your place!" She said as she brought Shisui behind her and struck horizontally from left to right. Hayato parried with Rashinban but just as the two swords made contact, Motoko had already pulled Shisui back for a thrust towards his throat. Hayato quickly ducked out of the way and kicked backward to create space between him and the raven haired swordsman.

Before he could even bring Rashinban back up to its fighting stance, another red wave of ki was making its way towards him. The impact sent him flying backwards into the woods surrounding the inn as he crashed through some trees. Anchoring his sword onto the ground he regained footing and let his healing factor do its job. "You could at least try to dodge it you know" The voice suggested sarcastically. Hayato frowned as he saw Motoko charging right back at him. "Easier said than done"

Hayato ducked as Shisui slashed at where his neck used to be. He tried for a leg sweep, hoping to catch the swordmistress by surprise but the young woman saw it coming and jumped to evade the attack. She brought her blade down on the boy underneath her as she fell. Steel clashed with steel as Hayato brought Rashinban in between him and Shisui without a second to spare. The blade inched closer to his face as their swords were locked in a contest of physical strength. Motoko was standing over Hayato who was lying down on his back, giving her the leverage.

"This samurai chick aint kidding!" Hayato called out to the voice in his head. "She's really going to kill me!" He cried out inside his head. "Then it's time to fight back!" The voice said with determination in her voice. "Kick her in the stomach and flip her off of yourself" The voice suggested. "That should give you enough time to think of what to do next" Hayato smiled. "Not a bad idea" He said as he brought his knee to the girl's abdomen. Motoko winced as she was taken surprise by the sudden attack and her eyes widened as Hayato proceeded to kick her off of himself.

She landed gracefully back on her feet as Hayato got up and started to dash off in the other direction. "You're not going anywhere!" Motoko bellowed as she charged Shisui with her ki once more. It glowed bright red as she raised her blade above her head.

"That's right, hit me with all you got" Hayato said to himself as he grinned inwardly while looking over his shoulder. "Are you crazy?! What the hell are you up to!?" The voice inside his head exclaimed. "Don't worry, I got this" Hayato explained as he was met by a woman's shriek. "Don't come near me!" Naru said as she raised her arms in front of her in defense.Hayato grinned mischievously.

The roar of an enormous wave of condensed ki resonated with Motoko's shout of "ZANMAKEN!" as Hayato felt the heat of the wave even as it was yards away from him. He looked behind his shoulder once more as his eyes widened in shock. "Shit!" He said inwardly as the wave charged closer, disintegrating any rocks, trees, boulders and animals that got in its way and created an enormous scar on the ground. "Even you can't take this much punishent daimyo!" The voice called out. "Watch me" He said as he came closer to Naru who was paralyzed with fear at the roaring wave of red energy approaching her.

"Dammit woman!" Hayato cried out as he scooped Naru from where she stood and slowed his pace slightly. "You're insane" The voice said with both irritation and admiration in her voice. Hayato looked at the frightened brown eyes of the auburn haired lady in his arms as he felt the heat grow stronger from the ki attack which was now only a few feet away and closing. He closed his eyes and prepared for impact. A thunderous explosion echoed from the woods as several flocks of birds were forced to leave their perches.

-Hinata sou Entrance-

"Hello?! Grandma?! Anyone?!" The man with large rectangular glasses called out. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he continued to call out. "Aunt Haruka?! Anyone?! It's Keitaro!" He called out as his voice started to fail him. "I guess no one's home" He said as he let himself in and left his shoes at the entrance. "Where's the bellboy?" Keitaro thought, remembering his past visits to his grandma's inn.

He made his way up to the second floor and called out from outside the manager's room. "Grandma? It's Keitaro" He called out but no one answered. "Grandma?" he thought as he slid the door open and found the room empty. "Maybe she went out." The man thought as he entered and set his bag on the floor. He sat down as he rummaged through his messy yet relatively straight black hair and cleaned his glasses. "I hope grandma can let me stay here" He thought then gave out a heavy sigh.

"Urashima Keitaro, 19 years old, single since birth and 2 time Tokyo U failure." He gnashed his teeth at the thought. "Dumb parents! I'll show them, I'll make it into Toudai! For myself and for my promised girl!" He declared as he stood up. "It's not good for the morale to think of negative things" He reassured himself "I may not be good at Math, Literature, History or Biology..." He sulked slightly. "Or with women..." He sulked even lower "Or anything else for that matter" Keitaro was now sprawled on the floor out of depression.

"No! NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo! No more!" He purged the sad memories from his mind as he stood once more. "I will get into Toudai! No matter what!" He said with newfound determination. "I guess I should take a bath now" He thought as he smelled his shirt. "Perfect! I know this inn has an outdoor hotspring bath area!...somewhere" He thought happily as he made his way downstairs. "Look out Toudai! Keitaro is back on track!"

-Hinata Woods-

Naru smelled burnt flesh and clothing as she lay down on her back. "Wh-what happened?" She asked as she slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight peeking from the gaps between tree branches and leaves made her squint a little as her vision cleared. Someone was apparently on top of her. His long silver locks of hair created a curtain of silver around her as the boy stood on all fours as if shielding her from something. "You alright Narusegawa-san?" Hayato asked as he forced a smile.

The burnt flesh of is back was now bared as the shirt he was wearing just this morning had been reduced to charred ashes by the ki attack Motoko had let loose on him. The muscles could be seen under his burnt skin as his regenrative abilities kicked into overdrive. "You can't make this easy can you?" The voice inside his head asked, compassion evident in her voice though. "Starting a new life never is" He replied with a smile.

His smile changed into a face twisted by pain as Motoko kicked him off of Naru. The silver haired boy was sent rolling on the floor as Motoko helped Naru up. "Are you alright sempai?" She asked as Naru turned her gaze to her savior. Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw Hayato's scorched and mutilated back. The tears rolled down her cheek, voluntarily or involuntarily she fell to her knees as she continued to gawk at the silver haired boy's injury.

"You have done enough Evil Spirit!" Motoko said sternly. "And now you have even endagered the life of Naru-sempai" She continued as she moved closer to Hayato, Shisui at the ready. She raised the blade above her head as she prepared to bring it down upon Hayato who was still paralyzed by the pain in his back. "I will end this now." She brought Shisui down as hard as she could but before she knew it, a gunshot had rang out through the woods and Shisui flew off her hands. She was shocked to see her blade on the floor and her hands empty as the swordmistress looked around for the intruder.

In the clearing stood Haruka, a .44 Magnum revolver with a scope modification at hand and Shinobu hiding behind her. "Enough Motoko" She said as she lowered her revolver's smoking barrel and put it in its holster. "But he is-" Motoko said as she tried to justify her actions. Haruka looked to her would be employee's injury and her eyes immediately narrowed as her gaze fell upon Motoko. "I said enough!" Haruka bellowed.

There was silence amongst the tenants as the only sound that could be heard was the chirping of the cicadas. Hayato looked over his shoulder amidst the uneasy silence and smiled inwardly.

"Perfect" he thought to himself as he continued to lie on the floor.

To be continued...hopefully

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This chapter turned out longer than I expected but I really tried to correct my previous mistakes as pointed out by a reviewer. I really do hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I greatly appreciate each and every comment, suggestion and opinion you can give so please leave a review! See you next chapter! 


	6. Chapter 6: The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Its story and all of its characters belong to the greatest manga writer and illustrator ever to grace this earth with his work, Ken Akamatsu**.

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_Chapter 6: The Beginning_

Haruka cleared away the twigs in her path as she made her way towards the duel grounds. Shinobu was hiding behind her as she gaped at the destruction caused by the said duel. "What the hell were they doing?" She thought as smoke rose from the enormous scar on the ground. Several trees were lying on the ground, their trunks apparently severed in half, some on fire others still attached to their stumps. Rocks were shattered and some dead birds lay on the ground as well as Haruka reached Motoko.

"Haruka-san, this Koganei boy is-" a stinging slap to the cheek silenced whatever reason Motoko had prepared for her housemother. "You agreed on a duel not a death match, look at him!" Haruka snapped. Motoko turned her gaze upon the boy's mutilated back as she winced as if feeling his pain. "This duel is over" Haruka said as she took off her apron and covered the boy's back with it. "Granny just sent me her reply regarding our situation"

"Can you walk?" She asked as the boy forced a smile and nodded slightly. While Haruka was attending to the silver haired boy, Kitsune was busy helping Naru up. "You okay Naru?" The foxy lady asked as she tried to soothe her friend who was still crying. "Hey, its alright, its over now" She hugged her friend as Naru continued to gawk at the silver haired boy and Haruka. She wiped the tears from her eyes and face as she shook her head. "I'm alright" The auburn haired girl finally replied. "Come on, Haruka wants us to meet back at the inn" Kitsune said as the two of them headed back towards Hinata-sou.

-Meanwhile-

"I finally found it!" Keitaro exclaimed happily as he slid the door to the open area hot springs open. He snatched a towel from the entrance as he quickly slipped out of his old clothes and jumped in the hot springs. He swam around the refreshing pool of mineral rich lukewarm water as he rested his back on one of the rocks. "I could get used to this" He said to himself as he closed his eyes and let the water do its job.

-Hinata Sou Entrance-

Haruka and Hayato were the first to enter as Haruka let the silver haired boy lie down on the couch and she fetched the first aid kit. Su and Shinobu followed then Naru and Kitsune. Lastly was Motoko who entered with Shisui in his sheathe and Rashinban's in her hand. She found it rather odd that the silver haired boy had not let go of his sword since he got a hold of it. She took note of it mentally as she headed off to the roof. "A good hour of training should clear my mind" she thought as she cast one final glance at the silver haired boy. She was silent as she made her way to the patio.

Hayato was speechless all the while. On the surface he was apparently in too much pain to neither speak nor even make any sound for that matter. But underneath, he was digging his nails into the floor of his subconscious world. The pain may not have manifested on his face but his mind was surely feeling every ounce of it.

"Relax and try to focus on healing, it'll heal faster of you focus" The voice in his head said to him consolingly. Hayato suddenly thought of something as his facial expression changed from being under agonizing pain to being serious in a split second. "And don't let go of the sword either, you wont have problems as long as the hilt is in contact with your skin." the voice followed up.

Hayato smiled slightly as he closed his eyes. "You're the one responsible for my healing abilities returning aren't you?" He asked the voice. "Not just that, I also provided the basic fighting styles you were using earlier" She said quite proudly of herself. "I'll have to thank you for that sometime" Hayato said with a chuckle. "So if I let go of this sword, you'll disappear?" Hayato inquired. "That's how it works...what are you planning?" She was now a bit nervous as evident in the changes in her voice intonation. "Wouldn't it be strange that I can recover from an injury this serious in a matter of minutes?" Hayato said with a smile.

"I can't risk anymore suspicion" Hayato said as he let go of his sword. "No wai-" the voice tried to say but she disappeared as soon as the sword left Hayato's hands.

Hayato's back was already partially healed but still very sensitive as the boy rolled up the neckline of his shirt and bit it. "I'm gonna hate myself for this" Hayato said as he braced himself before pulling his shoulders back then briskly jerking them forward. The sudden movement caused the freshly healed skin on Hayato's back to tear open as blood steamed down from the wounds once more. Hayato bit against his makeshift mouthpiece as the waves of pain rushed at him, causing him to eventually go unconscious and fall off the couch. "Dammit!" Haruka muttered to herself as she rushed over to Hayato. She immediately wrapped clean dressing around the boy to stop the bleeding then slung him over her shoulder.

Shinobu, medical supplies at hand, walked in and immediately dropped what she was holding at the sight of all the blood on the floor. The blue maiden's eyes darted towards Haruka and the silver haired boy on her shoulders. "Wha-what happened Haruka-san?" She stuttered nervously as the sight of so much human blood made her a bit queasy. "I can't treat him here, I'm bringing him up to one of the rooms" Harua explained. "Just bring the supplies I asked you for upstairs" Haruka said as she made her way to the stairs. "Hai" Shinobu said as she began to pick up the things she dropped.

Naru and Kitsune entered just in time for them to see Haruka carrying a bloodied Hayato upstairs. Their eyes followed their housemother then turned to Shinobu who was carrying some bandages and disinfectants. "What happened?" Kitsune asked the blue haired maiden. "Hayato-sempai's wounds reopened and Haruka-san is treating him upstairs" Shinobu replied as she bowed slightly and excused herself. Kitsune then turned to Naru who was apparently busy staring at something on the floor. Kitsune traced her line of sight and saw that Naru was staring at a small pool of blood on the floor. Kitsune covered her mouth slightly at the sight but Naru showed no expression.

-Meanwhile-

Keitaro spurted water from his mouth as he rested his back on one the edge of the hot spirng. With a sigh he let himself be submereged in the warm, mineral-rich water as his problems were washed away. "I could sure get used to this!" He said happily as he stretched out his arms. "I hope granny lets me stay for free though" He thought as he submerged himself from nose down and blew bubbles in the hot water.

-Back Inside-

"Naru..." Kitsune called out to her friend who was still speechless. "I think I need a bath" Naru said as she briskly turned away from the crimson liquid and headed for the open area hot springs. "Hey wait up!" Kitsune said as she quickly followed, worried of what her friend might do. When Kitsune had reached the changing area, Naru was already in a skimpy towel and the auburn haired beauty smiled at her friend. "I just thought a bath might clear my head" She said as she took off her coke bottle glasses and headed for the springs. "I should accompany her just in case" Kitsune said to herself. "Naru can be a bit emotionally unstable at times" she said as she started to undress herself.

Naru could literally feel the tension of this morning's happenings wash away as she slowly stepped into the hot springs before submerging herself in it completely. She resurfaced and let out sigh of relief as she leaned back on one of the rocks. The auburn haired girl closed her eyes as she let the warmth of the springs wash over her. She slowly found herself thinking about the silver haired boy again and decided to just shake off the thought. She shook her head several times before reopening her eyes.

"Who's that?" she thought to herself as she recognized a blurry human figure sitting across her in the spring. "Is that Kitsune?" she asked herself as she squinted, trying to get a clearer image of the person. The person had short hair so Naru's incredible deductive reasoning told her that it was indeed Kitsune. With a smile, she swam over to "Kitsune" as she called out to her friend.

"Hey, I thought I went in before you did?" a feminine voice called out to Keitaro which made him snap back up in attention. He squinted at the figure swimming towards him, hoping for a clearer image. He picked up his glasses and put them on as he tried to recognize the person who called out to him. He felt something warm trickle down his nose almost immediately.

-Hinata-Sou Patio-

The faint sound of sharpened steel cutting through air reverberated through the roof top as a lone leaf fluttered past Motoko before splitting in half a few moments later. The raven haired swords mistress wiped the sweat from her brow as she exhaled in relief. The one and a half hour of training did clear her mind and her decision was set. She glanced at the katana resting on the wall, it's white tassels fluttering in the wind. It was stained by the blood of its own wielder when Motoko went back to the living room to find it lying in a pool of blood. Her decision was set. She sheathed Shisui and picked up Rashinban and went back inside to confront the silver-haired boy.

-Manager's Room-

"That should stop the bleeding" Haruka said as she washed the blood from her hands. Shinobu was now very pale from watching Haruka work. "What's going to happen to him now?" the blue haired girl asked. "He'll live." Haruka said plainly. "His fever should subside in the morning." Haruka said as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "So Hayato-sempai will be alright?" Shinobu asked but Haruka remained silent as she watched the boy sleep. "He'll live" Haruka said with a slight smile as she helped Shinobu clean up.

Hayato opened his eyes slightly and the image before him slowly cleared. "Haruka-san" He said in a pained whisper. Haruka was alarmed by the boy suddenly speaking up. "Rest, don't talk" Haruka said consolingly at the silver haired boy. Hayato forced a smile as he said: "Where's my sword?" Haruka raised an eyebrow. "I said don't talk, the sword wont do you any good right now"

"I need it, please" Hayato said softly. Haruka eyed him for a while before asking Shinobu to get Rashinban from downsatirs. Shinobu met Motoko along the hallway and was surprised to see the sword mistress holding Hayato's katana in her hand. "Motoko-sempai, Hayato-sempai is asking for his sword" She explained. "I understand" Motoko replied. "I will hand it to him personally." Motoko said in a serious tone. "There is something I must speak to him about." The two young women made their way back to the manager's room and Motoko stepped forward. Hayato eyed her from head to toe before raising a suspicious eyebrow.

Motoko immediately got down on her knees and placed Rashinban before Hayato. "Gomenasai Koganei-san" Motoko said quickly while still in the prostrated position. "Please accept my apology." Hayato was taken by surprise as shown by his facial expression. "I am sorry for jumping to conclusions and attacking you." Motoko explained. "Please forgive me" She said as she placed Rahinban in front of her. "It's alright Aoyama-san" Hayato said in a barely audible whisper. "You only wanted to protect your friends, I understand" Hayato said with a weak smile.

"Alright, that's enough for today" Haruka interrupted. "You need your rest" she said as she lit herself a new cigarette. The women filed out of the room one by one. Hayato chuckled and grinned broadly once all of the women had left. "You planned this didn't you?" The familiar feminine voice inside his head asked him. "Not exactly but yeah you can say that." Hayato thought. "You're evil" The voice chastised him. "And you haven't even introduced yourself yet" Hayato said to the voice. "Close your eyes and I'll show you" the voice said happily.

Green grass lay beneath his feet as several cherry blossoms falling from the surrounding Sakura trees flew past him. He noticed that he was now garbed in an all white yukata when someone spoke from behind him. "I hope you like my new design" the familiar female voice said as Hayato turned around to confront the once disembodied voice in his head. His jaw dropped to the floor at the image of the being in front of him. Her light pink ankle length hair flowed behind her as some strands contrasted against her electric blue eyes. Her face had soft youthful features that were further enhanced by her flawless porcelain white skin. She wore a white, cherry blossom patterned yukata and her lips were curved in such a way that gave her a perpetual smile.

She blinked twice, noticing that her daimyo had spaced out and decided to snap him out of it. "Daimyo, you okay?" She asked as she waved her hand on front of his face. The silver haired boy shook his head and snapped out of his trance. "Wha? yeah I-I'm fine" Hayato said as he decided to observe his feet. "Let me introduce myself. I'm your personal Sentient Intuitive Empathetic Research and Regulation Application" Hayato scratched his head "Got a nickname?" He asked

"SIERRA" the young woman smiled happily "I'm the one responsible for maintaining your systems in proper working order and making sure you're kept up to date on the things happening around you" Sierra explained. "Radius-san knew you'd get into a lot of trouble so he programmed me into Rashinban" she said as she sat down on the green grass. "Radius-san" Hayato said in a darker tone of voice. Hayato said again as he turned away from the young woman. "You remember?" Sierra said as her face lit up. "Yeah, I remember." Hayato said as he walked away. "I remember well"

Sierra stood up and followed her daimyo through the field of Sakura trees. "Daimyo, my orders are to bring you back to-"

"No" Hayato replied even before Sierra could finish. "I'm not going back"

He continued to walk amongst the fluttering cherry blossoms with the pink haired woman right behind him. "But-" Sierra tried to reason once more. "They tried to kill me Sierra" The silver haired boy interrupted yet again. "I'm done with them." He said as he stopped walking. "I'm starting a new life now." He said as he turned around to face the beautiful young woman. "I won't stop you from doing what you were programmed to do" Hayato explained. "But know that this is my life and I live it the way I choose to" He finished.

Sierra sighed as she scratched her head. "You're sure about this?" She asked and Hayato nodded. "Then I can't stop you." She said with a smile. "I was programmed as a sort of moral compass" She said happily. "I'm here to guide you, sort of like a conscience." Hayato smiled back at her as he took her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "Thank you" Hayato whispered as Sierra hugged him back. "You're welcome"

Hayato was immediately snapped out of his subconscious realm by an ear pierceng scream of "PERVERT!" coming from a very enraged Naruegawa Naru. He opened his eyes only to see a young man clad in nothing but a towel burst through the door of his room and come hurtling at him. He quickly rolled out of the way as the young man tumbled on the wooden floor. Standing himself up with Rashinban he looked at the young man who was also standing himself up. He had straight though rather messy black hair and he wore huge geeky glasses. The young man blinked twice and let out a whimper of fear as he realized that there was a silver haired boy clutching a sword in his hand standing right in front of him.

"Hello there" Hayato said happily. "Gah! Dont kill me!" The young man blurted out as he dashed towards the hole which was once the door of the manager's room. Hayato raised an eyebrow at the man's erratic actions. "What's up with him?" He asked himself. "Brings back memories of your first encounter with the tenants doesn't it?" Sierra's voice said from inside his head. "I wasn't wearing a hand towel then" Hayato replied.

A fierce cry of "Zanmaken" echoed through the halls as a red wave of ki charged towards the terrified young man. It collided solidly with his upper torso and it sent him tumbling into the patio. "I got him!" Motoko said proudly as she led the pack of angry girls towards the unfortunate fellow. Hayato followed closely behind. His back was well healed but still hindered his movements somewhat. "You're planning something" Sierra said suspiciously. "I never knew you could read thoughts too." Hayato said subconsciously. "I can hear your every thought" Sierra replied happily. "So much for privacy" Hayato muttered to himself.

Keitaro quickly got up from the ki attack much to the surprise of everyone running after him. His eyes darted from one corner to the other, searching for an escape route. He found none and decided to double back but a wall of angry females prevented his progress. "End of the line pervert!" Naru said as her fist shook with rage. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean any harm!" Keitaro pleaded. "I'm just looking for a place to stay! I'm Urashima Keitaro my Grandma runs this inn!" Keitaro said on his knees.

The girls looked at each other then back at the pitiful young man pleading before them. "Liar! This place hasn't been an inn for a long time!" Naru said with her fist shaking with rage. "This place is an all girl's dormitory!" The auburn haired beauty exclaimed. "But there was a guy in that other room, he-" Keitaro reasoned out "Enough!" Naru said. "Motoko" Naru said simply. "Gladly" Motoko replied as she held Shisui above her head and charged it with a faint blue glow.

"Zanma-eh?" Motoko said as her blade was stopped with a metallic "clang" by another before it could complete its downward swing. The white tassels hanging from the katana's hilt fluttered in the afternoon breeze as Hayato stared Motoko in the eye. "Don't do this Aoyama-san" He pleaded as he pushed Shisui back and stepped in between Keitaro and the pack of angry vixens. "How the hell are you still able to walk?" Kitsune asked in bewilderment. "I eat my vegetables." Hayato replied simply. "Step away from the pervert Koganei" Motoko ordered sternly. "Please dont' make the same mistake twice" Hayato pleaded once more.

"That man is a pervert; there is no doubt about it!" Motoko said. "He grabbed my breasts!" Naru added. "He stole my underwear!" said Kitsune. "He showed Shinobu his thingy!" Su squealed happily. "Um no! It wasn't that big anyway!" Shinobu said in defense of Keitaro. Hayato raised his eyebrow and took a quick suspicious glance at the barely dressed young man cowering behind him. "What're you going to do? They actually have evidence now." Sierra asked him. "Be quiet I'm thinking" Hayato thought in reply. "Move or be moved Koganei." Motoko said. Her voice was as serious as a church.

Hayato swallowed hard, knowing full well the extent of Motoko's capability to induce pain."I know what you're thinking daimyo" Sierra said to him worriedly. "Don't say it" she pleaded. "Please don't say it" Hayato could only swallow hard and smile ever so slightly.

"Make me" Hayato said decidedly as he held Rashinban in front of him. Sierra could only sigh and scratch her head. The tenants standing behind Motoko stepped away from the raven haired sword mistress. "You sure you know what you're doing?" Keitaro asked the silver haired boy in front of him. Hayato shot him a glare. "No, but would you rather I step away and let them have at you?" He replied sarcastically. Keitaro and Hayato swallowed hard as they saw Motoko's blade shimmer deadly crimson. "You're in for it now daimyo" Sierra said as she prepped Hayato's healing nanomachines and set them to overdrive.

"Looks like we'll be working overtime tonight." Hayato thought as he gripped Rashinban tightly.

To be continued...hopefully

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To those who were waiting for an update (assuming there are any) I'm sorry it took this long, I haven't had the time to write (School's been a bitch). I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I greatly appreciate each and every comment, suggestion and opinion you can give so please leave a review! See you next chapter! 


	7. Chapter 7: Cafe Showdown

**Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Its story and all of its characters belong to the greatest manga writer and illustrator ever to grace this earth with his work, Ken Akamatsu**.

* * *

_Chapter 7: Cafe Showdown_

"Last chance to step away Koganei" Motoko said as she prepared to bring down her blade. Hayato simply nodded once.

"Your last chance to change your mind too" Hayato flung back at her. Motoko's eyebrow twitched as she bellowed "ZANGANKEN!" and released a red wave of ki towards the defiant young man.

"Shit" Hayato and Keitaro said in unison.

-Cafe Hinata-

Haruka sat down on one of the tables and let out a deep sigh before putting a cigarette in her mouth and flicking her lighter open. The cafe was empty since she had decided to take a day off today. The little "duel" Motoko and Hayato had made sure that she couldn't enjoy it however. She pulled a folded piece of paper from her apron pocket and opened it up. She ran her eyes through the familiar fax she had received earlier that day.

_Dear Haruka,_

_I understand the situation you find yourself in but I believe it would be best if I left this decision __to you.  
__You are the manager and it is your decision that stands now my child. I find it interesting that a mere  
boy was able to last that long with the girls and I'd like to see how this turns out. Keep me updated. _

_P.S.  
I've been having strange dreams lately and from what I can understand of them, your nephew Keitaro  
might drop by sometime soon. Send me a fax if he does indeed show up. Take care of yourself child._

She sighed out the cancerous smoke as she stood up and headed towards the counter. Opening the secret compartment once more, she pulled out the twin pistols she found tucked behind Hayato's jeans the night she found him dying on the steps. "My decision huh?" she asked herself as she continued to examine the pistols in her hands. "He seems too young to be dangerous" Haruka thought. "But so is Motoko" She sighed as she placed the pistols on the counter and took another drag. "And Naru" Haruka remembered the bills she had to pay from the hole Naru punched through the wall. "And Su" She added once more, shuddering at the memory of the molmolian's latest invention.

Haruka's ears twitched as they caught the sound of an explosion coming from uphill. "What the hell?" She thought as she quickly stashed away the pistols and hurried outside. She saw smoke rising from the inn. "Did Naru and Kitune try cooking again?" She jested to herself as another explosion reached her ears. "Motoko" She said to herself as she checked the rounds in her .44 revolver before putting it in its holster and dashing up the steps.

"Who the hell could she be beating up now?"

-Hinata-sou Patio-

Keitaro tumbled on the floor as Hayato pushed him away from the path of the raging red wave of condensed physical energy. He was just about to stand himself up again when he noticed Motoko charging at him, katana shimmering light blue this time. "Zanmaken!" Motoko bellowed as she released another red wave of energy towards Keitaro. He froze in fear as the wave inched closer to him but suddenly felt someone grab onto his nape and pull him away. The ki attack annihilated the wooden railings on impact and the resulting shockwave sent both men back a couple of feet.

"You just had to piss her off didn't you?" Sierra said in annoyance

"Stop lecturing me and help me find a way to beat her!" Hayato replied subconsciously.

"You can't! As long as you can't generate ki like she can you're no match for her!" Sierra explained as Hayato rolled out of the way of yet another ki attack.

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?!"

"Like you would listen Mister I-do-what-I-want-with-my-life!"

Hayato didn't have time to sigh out his frustration as Motoko thrust Shisui towards his midsection. He sidestepped to the right just in time for Shisui to make nothing but a tear on his already tattered shirt. Motoko quickly pulled Shisui back and made a Horizontal slash towards Hayato. The silver haired boy brought up his katana out of reflex and was sent back until he collided with the wall by the mere force of the strike. Motoko's sword continued to press him against the wall as she clenched her left hand into a fist and pulled it back. "Shinmeiryuu Ougi, Gurenken!" she said as she dug her fist into Hayato's abdomen, making the boy collapse immediately. Hayato coughed out blood as he used Rashinban to support himself.

"What the hell was that?!" Hayato asked his subconscious advisor.

"I don't know but it sure was enough to damage your internal organs" Sierra said worriedly as she reviewed a wooden clipboard in her hand. "It must be another ki attack" She concluded. "I suggest you sit this one out now before you get killed" Sierra said putting emphasis on "killed" The collapsed young man could only sigh. "My thoughts exactly"

Motoko looked down with pity at the collapsed form of the young man before turning towards Keitaro who was now shaking in fear. "Your turn pervert" She said, her voice sounding like the death bell as it tolled for him. Keitaro never had any luck with women. He was never popular among the girls and this in turn led to him being single his entire life. He was always paired up with guys during school dances and even his own mother got fed up with him and kicked him out of the house. In other words women pretty much hated him, all save for one, his promised girl and he couldn't even remember how she looks like or what her name was anymore. Even now he was about to die at the hands of a stunnigly beautiful young woman of all people.

Little did he know that his luck was about to change.

Motoko brought her sword up as it shimmered deadly crimson once more. "Last requests?" she asked.

"Don't kill me?" Keitaro whimpered as he held his arms up in a futile attempt to defend himself.

"Agreed" Motoko replied but her blade was still raised and poised for an attack. "But I will still cause you immeasurable amounts of pain...perveted coward" Motoko hissed as she tightened her grip on Shisui. The bystanders held their breath even though they knew what was going to happen next. The poor fellow was going to be blasted out into the courtyard with every bone on his body broken. It was like this every time a male happened to muster the guts to trespass into the dorm. The tenants knew the routine well but it never ceased to entertain them though.

"Hey, what's going on here?" a familiar monotone voice called out from behind the tenants who were busy watching the so called pervert get pulverised. They turned around to see Haruka with her perpetually lit cigarette hanging from her lips. They made way for her to see what was happening and the housemother's eyes widened ever so slightly at what she saw.

"Long time no see Keitaro" she called out in surprise she kept very well hidden.

Keitaro's eyes widened and a smile made its way to his face as if an angel had descended from the heavens and delivered him from the clutches of hell. "Aunt Haruka!" He cried happily as he rushed over to his aunt and clung onto her as if his life depended on it. An elbow to the top of his head broke the joyful reunion.

"Haruka-**SAN**" she emphasized as Keitaro lay sprawled and unconscious on the floor.

- Hinata-sou living room -

"Unacceptable!" Naru declared as she slammed her palm on the table. "Simply unacceptable!" She repeated for emphasis. "I don't care if you're the grandson of the owner, no man can stay in an all girls dorm!" She finished, her face red with anger.

"But I don't have anywhere else to go..." Keitaro pleaded to Haruka. "Just for a little while! Please!"

"You peep at us, grab my breasts, steal underwear and wave your thing at Shinobu and you think we'll let you stay?!" Naru retorted before Haruka could even open her mouth.

"What about him? You let him stay here!" Keitaro said pointing towards Hayato. "Because he didn't peep at us, grab my breasts, steal underwear nor wave his thing at Shinobu!" Naru said in quick succession. "I'm hiring him at my cafe so he gets to stay here as a privilege" Haruka replied as she tapped the ashes off of her cigarette. Hayato's eyes lit up as he turned his gaze to Haruka. "But the staying part is still to de decided though, don't get your hopes up" Haruka pointed to Hayato whose head dropped almost immediately.

"There are still some things we need to clear up" Haruka said to Hayato before turning back to her nephew.

"So I'm still not in their good graces huh?" Hayato thought.

"Can't you hire me? I'm your nephew for crying out loud!" Keitaro begged on his knees.

"I don't know, can you handle that much work?" Haruka asked as she raised her eyebrow. "Considering you are a Tokyo U student now right?" She asked.

"Well uh, um...that's a..." Keitaro stuttered as all gazes turned to him. "You're in your second year by now, correct?" Haruka said as she gave Keitaro a proud smile. "Well um..." Words still eluded the ronin as he scratched his head.

"TOKYO U?!" the girls said in unison as they crowded around Keitaro. "What's your major?" Kitsune asked.

"I was trying for law but..."

"A LAW MAJOR!" Kitsune exclaimed as she continued on about how he could turn out to be a money raking government official and whatnot. Su asked if TokyoU was tasty, making everyone sweatdrop.

"I feel out of place here, what are they talking about?" Hayato asked Sierra. "TokyoU is the most prestigious university in Japan" She said as she read from her clipboard. "There must be more to this guy than meets the eye after all" She said as she eyed Keitaro from head to toe. "So is everyone else in this screwed up house" Hayato said with a sigh.

"So how about we let this guy stay and we make him our tutor?!" Kitsune suggested much to Naru's dismay.

"I agree, someone with experience will be of great help" Motoko said as she pondered the situation. "Me too!" Shinobu said.

"Can you show me if this Tokyo U thing is tasty?" Su asked as she latched herself onto Keitaro. Naru, after a little nudging finally gave in.

"Alright he can stay" she said rather glumly as the girls welcomed Keitaro to the dorm.

"Damn, this guy is good" Hayato thought. "He got welcomed in just like that!" Sierra said rather impressed.

"And he even got to see Naru-san's boobs" Sierra added much to Hayato's dismay.

"Lucky bastard" Hayato said glumly.

"Cheer up daimyo, things'll look up somehow" the young woman tried to encourage him.

"Does that mean you'll show me your boobs?" Hayato grinned playfully at the charming young woman and soon found out that the pretty ones are those that hit the hardest. The punch was subconscious but it manifested on the surface as a wince. Moments later and Hayato felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to see Haruka standing behind him.

"We need to talk"

- Manager's Room -

"Aw man! things have really gotten complicated!" Keitaro said to himself as he sat down on the panelled floor. "They think I'm a toudai student when I'm really just a 2 time ronin!" He thought to himself. "But still, I was rather fortunate to have landed in a place like this" He grinned inwardly "So many girls! So many possibilities!" He thought to himself as indecent thoughts started to stir in his mind. "But come to think of it, I haven't even talked to a girl in such a long time." He thought

"The last time was probably with my promised girl 15 years ago" He said as he looked out the window of his room and admired the beautiful view of the sea.

"And just who is this promised girl of yours?" a feminine voice asked from behind him. Keitaro quickly turned around to see Kitsune standing behind him wearing nothing but a tank top and a miniskirt. "Hi there, I'm Mitsune Konno, Kitsune for short" She introduced herself as she moved closer to him. "Ki-Kitsune?" Keitaro asked as the foxy lady inched closer and closer to him, her beautiful brown eyes locking onto his own and putting him in a trance.

- Living room -

"Did you hear that?" Hayato asked Haruka who just came back after showing Keitaro to his room. "Hear what?" Haruka asked.

"I think I just heard someone scream 'pervert' again" Hayato said as he shook off the feeling. "Must've heard it out of reflex" He said as he scratched his head and smiled. "So what did you want to talk to me about Haruka-san?"

Haruka focused her eyes on the boy's face. "Come with me" she said as she made her way towards the door. Hayato followed and soon they were in front of Cafe Hinata. "This is where you'll be working" Haruka said to the silver haired boy. "It's not much but it gets really busy for its size"

"Does that mean you're hiring me?" Hayato aksed eagerly "Yeah, pretty much" Haruka said with a slight smile.

"I told you things would look up!" Sierra said as she gave Hayato a thumbs up. "Indeed they are" Hayato said.

- Hinata Sou -

Naru clutched her broom tightly as she followed closely behind Keitaro. "Why are you following me?!" Keitaro demanded after several hours of Naru stalking him like a hawk.

"You groped my best friend and you peeped at me in the bathroom you pervert!" She said as she whacked him on the head with the broom. "I can't let you run around freely with minors in the house!"

"Umm excuse me?" a shy feminine voice called out from behind them. Naru and Keitaro turned around to see the blue maiden, Shinobu standing behind them and playing with the edges of her skirt. "Oh you're that Junior High Student" Keitaro said, remembering the incident that happened earlier that day.

"My n-name's M-Maehara Shinobu" She said as she bowed nervously. "Um, c-could you please te-teach me some m-math?"

"...So you just substitue _y_ here and everything falls into place" Keitaro said happily as he solved the problem. "Wow! Thank you Keitaro-sempai!" Shinobu said happily, her cheeks turning into a pinkish hue.

"Hey, why don't you help me out too?" Naru said slyly as she pulled out a Tokyo U study guide. "Urk, Toudai study guide?!" Keitaro gasped as cold beads of sweat formed in his forehead and neck.

"You shouldn't have any problem with this now would you Mister Toudai?" Naru said with a devilish grin.

"This is my chance!" Keitaro thought to himself as he read the study guide questions. "Time to prove to them that I'm not really from Toudai!" He said as he thought up of a plan.

"Alright! The answer to number one is 3, number two is 2, number three is 4 and number four is 1." He said in quick succession. "How's that?" Naru and Shinobu's eyes widened as they checked the answer key.

"He got them all right!" Shinobu said with glee.

"He didn't even have to look at the questions" Naru said with a dumbfounded look on her face. But she sure didn't look as stupid as Keitaro did as he himself couldn't believe how miserable his luck was.

- Cafe Hinata -

"You think you can handle that?" Haruka asked the silver haired boy as she watched him operate the cash register.

"Yes ma'am!" Hayato said with a salute. "Only change is left in the register, No alcohol for minors and Kick out anyone who looks at you funny. Got it!"

"Good boy, now get yourself familiarized with the place." Haruka said as she patted Hayato on the head. "I'll be out back if you need me"

"Sure thing boss!" Hayato said happily as he saluted her once more. "This actually might work out!" He thought so that only he and Sierra could hear. "Told you!" Sierra said happily. Hayato smiled contently at the marvelous view of the setting sun in the distance. He ran his fingers along the edge of the counter. He felt a tiny bump along the edges and found out that it was a button. He pressed it and a panel slid down, revealing several drawers. One such drawer was a little bit open and Hayato decided to see what was inside.

His eyes widened with shock to see two very familiar gold plated pistols lying inside. Hayato's eyes narrowed as he picked them up and checked their magazines. "They're fully loaded." Sierra said. "She knows about me" Hayato said as he cocked both pistols and turned off the safety. "Daimyo, are you-" Sierra asked. "I can't let her tell the others" Hayato said.

"Tell them what?" Haruka said as she parted the curtain in the front door and entered. They stared each other squarely in the eye, both waiting for each other to make the first move.

"What have you been hiding from us Koganei?" Haruka asked as she stepped forward, her right hand alread unlatching the button of her .44 Magnum's holster.

Hayato remained silent.

"I know you saw the pistols in the drawer. I heard you cock them while I was outside." Haruka said calmly as she wrapped her fingers around the revolver. "I know you had the smell of gunpowder on you when I found you on the steps." She got ready to draw as Hayato's face showed increasing signs of frustration. "Not all of us are that easy to fool Koganei" Haruka said as her eyes narrowed. Hayto's grip tightened on his two pistols as he kept his arms from shaking under the counter.

"Who are you?" Haruka asked as she pulled the revolver from its holster and pointed it at Hayato with lightning speed. She was surprised to see two gold barrels pointing right back at her.

"This kid's pretty quick" She noted as she stared the boy down. "Are you going to shoot?" Haruka asked the silver haired boy.

"I have to" Hayato said as his trigger fingers trembled. "Don't do this daimyo, you can still reason out with her" Sierra pleaded him. "Haruka-san" Hayato said as he started to lower his arms. Haruka's eyebrow rose but her hand kept still. "I…" he said as he contemplated the situation. "No." Hayato decided as he fixed his gaze at his target and steadied his aim.

"It's too late for that now" Hayato thought to himself as he fired at Haruka.

Haruka quickly kicked down a table and took cover behind it as she pulled back the hammer of her revolver. Hayato's shots dug deep into the overturned table as she peeked from behind her cover, lining her sight with the revolver's scope modification as she approximated her target's location. Hayato ducked behind the counter as he checked his remaining ammo. A deafening gunshot rung out through the air and Hayato felt the part of the counter beside his head splinter into millions of tiny pieces.

"Dammit, I missed" Haruka grunted as the barrel of her revolver smoked.

"That was too close" Hayato said as he peeked through the new hole Haruka had blown open. "I need to end this quickly" Hayato said. "Any suggestions?" he asked Sierra. "I suggest you hold on to Rashinban's hilt" Sierra said. "One shot from that handcannon of hers and you'll probably lose a limb." She warned. "I can only give you full enhancements when the hilt is in contact with your skin but I am still able to partially connect with your internal systems when Rashinban is in close proximity."

"Now's not the time for a lecture" Hayato said as he rose up from his cover and fired. Haruka listened to the sound of his shots and leaned back on another fallen table behind her as she pointed her revolver at the table she was using for cover. Approximating the boy's location, Haruka closed her eyes as she concentrated on the sound of the gunfire.

"There!" Haruka said as her eyes shot open and two deafening shots roared out of the Magnum, one grazing Hayato's left ear and the other nailing him solidly in the left shoulder. He slammed hard against the wall due to the sheer force of the impact and slumped down as his knees buckled under his weight.

Hayato clenched his teeth but he couldn't prevent himself from screaming in pain. His shoulder was a bloody mess and his arm was practically hanging from the joint socket by its tendons and the few muscles that were left intact. The runaway assassin quickly drew his katana as he concentrated on healing.

- Hinata-Sou a few minutes earlier –

Keitaro sulked in his room as he reflected on the things he had done today. "I lied to that junior high girl and gave her hope" He said with regret as he previously told Shinobu that she could make into Toudai if she tried really hard.. "I'm no Toudai student at all" He said out loud to himself. "I'm just a failure" His head drooped as he said this. "A 2 time failure at that"

Keitaro let out a guilty sigh as he gazed at the sun which has nearly set completely. "I guess I'm just going to have to work with this" He said to himself. "I'll get myself into Toudai and then everything will be alright!" he said to himself as his determination began to build up again. "I'll start with this study guide they left behind!" Keitaro said, determined fire burning in his bespectacled eyes. Little did he know that a certain auburn haired girl had listened in on everything. "I have to talk to Haruka about this first" Naru said as she stealthily made her way through the dormitory.

Moments later and Naru felt the ground under her shake from the music being blasted from across the hall. She had to cover her ears to stop them from bleeding. "Dammit Su!" She said in a scream which was drowned out by _The March of the Swordmaster _as it shook Hinata-sou to its foundations. She sprinted out of the dorm to escape the possible last song syndrome Su's power metal could induce and was soon making her way down the inn's stone steps.

- Café Hinata present -

"Happy you listened to my lecture yet?" Sierra said to Hayato in an "I-told-you-so" tone.

"Shut up" Hayato grunted through clenched teeth as his cover splintered into tiny bits from Haruka's gunfire.

"You should be able to move your arm now" Sierra said as Hayato tried it out. He winced in pain each time he moved it but it was functional nonetheless. "This lady's good" Hayato said as he returned fire, emptying what was left of his right pistol.

"Two rounds left in your other pistol daimyo" Sierra informed him. "What are we going to do?" Hayato stared at the ceiling as Haruka continued to blow chunks away from his cover. He saw the wooden sign saying kitchen beside him and a light bulb turned on in his mind.

"You can't be serious" Sierra pleaded him. "Your body might not be able to take that much damage!" She warned him. "You have your limits too you know!"

Hayato chuckled as he tightened his grip on Rashinban and stood himself up in a crouch. "I have to make this look like an accident to at least lessen the suspicion" Hayato said to Sierra. "This looks pretty accidental to me" he said as he spied a gas tank in the kitchen. "Your arm isn't even fully healed yet!" Sierra continued to plead.

Shots continued to whiz by him as Hayato saw Haruka's makeshift cover. "I should be able to take her down" he thought. "Here it goes." He said as he aimed his pistol at the gas tank and put himself in position. "Sorry for making you work so hard Sierra." Hayato said as he saw Haruka peek out of her cover. "As expected of Radius-sama's son" Sierra said with a gentle smile. Hayato smiled as he pulled the trigger.

The resulting explosion managed to propel Hayato forward, through the bullet ridden counter and through Haruka's equally bullet ridden cover. The café owner's eyes widened in rare shock and her jaw dropped at seeing a silver haired boy's blazing figure rocket towards her, hellfire following behind him as it engulfed the entire café. Hayato successfully tackled Haruka out of the café as the explosion decimated nearly more than half of it. The two rolled on the floor and Hayato managed to end up above Haruka. The enraged café owner brought her revolver up to Hayato's face only for its barrel to be sliced off by Rashinban. Hayato quickly pointed his .45 at Haruka's forehead as he smiled knowing that victory was his.

To be continued...

* * *

Translation notes:  
_Ougi_ - Ultimate Secret Technique  
_Gurenken_ - Red-lotus Fist  
last song syndrome - the state of having a song stuck in your head 

Yet another long chapter I was forced to cut into two. Please leave a review on your way out, I'd greatly appreciate it! Criticisms, flames, whatever as long as it's coming from you and directed at me, I'll take it. Though I do prefer contructive criticism over comments like "you are crap" and "die". You are the ones who can make me a better writer, please do so!

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! See you next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8: New Allies, Old Enemies

_a/n: Death Hina was received better than I expected but I'm still going to continue this story though. A rewrite came to mind but I'll decide later on if that's necessary. Well, on with the story then. Happy reading!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Its story and all of its characters belong to the greatest manga writer and illustrator ever to grace this earth with his work, Ken Akamatsu**.

* * *

_Chapter 8: New allies, Old Enemies_

Naru was shocked to see an explosion coming from the café's direction. She quickly dashed towards the blazing lights in time to see 2 figures fly out of the café before a huge explosion collapses most of it. "What the hell happened here?" she asked herself.

"Is that Haruka and Hayato?" she thought as she was forced to squint without her glasses on. The two figures rolled on the floor and Hayato ended up on top of Haruka. A silvery flash of moonlight caught Naru's eye as it reflected off of Rashinban. The barrel of Haruka's .44 Revolver slid with a clatter and halted at Naru's feet. Naru's eyes widened as she saw Hayato's smoking and badly burnt body holding a gun to Haruka's forehead.

"Oh my god he's going to kill her!" she said as she tried to scream for help but no words came out. She tried to run but her legs wouldn't move. Her eyes fixated on the scene before her as she listened in on what was happening. Haruka gazed up at this boy's badly burned face as it healed up in a matter of seconds. The ashes of his burnt skin fading away almost instantaneously. The barrel of the pistol was still warm from use as it was presses against her forehead.

"One round" Haruka said as she had kept count of the boy's ammunition the moment he had fired his first shot.

"Better do it kid, unless you want to pay for repairs" Haruka jested and the runaway assassin smiled slightly.

"What are you anyway?" Haruka asked. "Who are you?" She asked again and Hayato winced at this question. "Why are you here?" She asked finally. Hayato's lips trembled as he prepared to answer. His arm was shaking as he held Haruka's gaze.

"Don't do this daimyo" Sierra pleaded him.

"I have to" Hayato replied in an unwavering tone.

"You're just telling yourself that" the young woman said. "Talk to her" Sierra suggested. "Please"

His finger began to squeeze the trigger slowly. Haruka closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable.

"I am Koganei Hayato" He said as calmly as his voice would allow. "I'm here because there are things in my past which I don't want to remember" He explained "I'm here seeking a new life because there's nothing left for me out there anymore" Haruka opened her eyes slowly and saw tears streaming down the silver haired boy's char covered cheeks. Hayato tossed the gun away and helped her up.

"Please don't make me go back there" Hayato pleaded Haruka. The stoic housemother pulled out a bent cancer stick and lit up. She took a long, deep drag as she watched her livelihood burn down. "Please Haruka-san" Hayato got on his knees. Haruka looked at the pitiful boy in front of her as a memory flashed back to her.

"_Please mother" a 17 year old Haruka begged Urashima Hinata. "I have nothing left anymore" Haruka said. _

_"Seta…Seta can't love me" Haruka wept at her mother's feet. _

_"I was a fool to throw away everything I had to chase after him" she pleaded as a younger version of granny Hina helped her daughter up and comforted her with a tight embrace. The tears continued to stream down her flawless face._

_"Please help me mother" _

"_There, there child" Hina said. "I will take care of you"_

_"Everything will be alright"_

Haruka snapped back to reality to see Hayato's char covered face looking up hopefully at her. She smiled and for the first time in recorded history, she laughed heartily. Her stoic facade was carcked and her face was contorted into a beautiful image of happiness brought about by the irony of her situation. She had forgotten how good it felt to laugh. Hayato was a bit disturbed at seeing Haruka express so much emotion at a single given moment and as was Naru who was still watching. Haruka smiled at the boy in front of her and extended her hand to him. The runaway assassin took it and stood up.

"That was a pretty vague answer" Haruka said as she exhaled the cancerous smoke. "But enough to actually make me feel the same way" She said as she looked at the flaming pile of rubble which was once the front of her humble café. "I came here to forget about some things too" Haruka explained. "My mother, Urashima Hinata, took me in" She said in a rather sad voice.

"I guess it's only fair that I take someone like myself in as well." She said as she looked to the night sky.

"But you can only run away from your past for so long." Haruka said. "You can be sure it'll catch up with you someday" She warned Hayato as she stared him right in the eye. "You can stay." Haruka said simply "I'll help keep your secret safe" she said finally. "Just as Granny kept mine"

"Tha-" Hayato said but was quickly cut off.

"I don't trust you." Haruka said as she stared Hayato squarely in the eye once more. "Not yet" she continued as she pointed her index and middle finger towards her eyes before tracing them back to the young man's dark brown eyes. "I will be watching you" She said.

"And know that if your past endangers anyone living here when it does find you…" Haruka said. Her face was dead serious. "…I will be the first to make sure you get what's coming to you" she said with a sense of finality. "Do I make myself clear?" she asked Hayato who nodded without hesitation.

"I promise you it won't come to that" Hayato said as he suddenly hugged Haruka. "Thank you Haruka-san"

"Hey enough with the hugs and help me put out that fire before it burns the whole place down" Haruka said as she slapped Hayato on the head with her harisen. "Repairs for the café's coming out of your salary too" Haruka said as she peeled Hayato off of her.

"Now's my chance" Naru said to herself "I need to get out of here while they still haven't-" a loud snapping sound made Naru cringe as she found a broken twig underneath her foot. Both Haruka and Hayato were alerted to the sound behind them. The two gunslingers whipped back to see who the intruder was and were surprised to see a bewildered Narusegawa Naru staring right back at them.

"Run damn you!" Her mind said but her legs still wouldn't move. "Run! Move or die!" Her mind screamed at her but still her legs would not heed her. She remained frozen in front of the two gunslingers, unable to move nor think. Hayato and Haruka exchanged glances before looking back at Naru.

"Hi there Narusegawa-san" Hayato said with an embarrassed smile and a bow at the waist. "I see you've witnessed the little accident Haruka-san and I have made" He said with a chuckle.

"Accident?!" Naru exclaimed. "You were holding a gun against her head!" she blurted out. "There was a huge explosion and-and" She continued as her mouth was moving faster than her mind. "This?! What the hell is this?!" She demanded as she held up the sliced barrel of Haruka's revolver.

"I was showing Hayato-kun around the café and the old pipes must've been leaking gas." Haruka explained with her usual calm face. "Well let's just say I won't be smoking inside the kitchen for a while" She said with a slightly embarrassed smile. Naru just gawked at her with a stupid look plastered on her face. "Hayato-kun was fast enough to get me out of the café before the gas tank exploded" She said as she ruffled Hayato's hair. Haruka spied the piece of the barrel still in Naru's hand and quickly made up an excuse.

"The explosion must've hit the compartment where I keep the guns too." Haruka said with a sigh "We tried to save what he could but these were the only ones that survived" She coninued as she held up Hayato's golden .45 semi-automatic. "Why-Why would you keep guns in your café?" Naru asked.

"I get weird people over there all the time"

Hayato in the meanwhile was just standing there and nodding while grinning stupidly.

"She's good daimyo and even better at making excuses than you are" Sierra said as she nudged at her master. _"_Maybe I can ask her to train me?" Hayato said to Sierra. "Considering she pretty much wiped the floor with you back there that might actually be a good idea" Sierra replied with her usual friendly smile.

A few minutes later and Haruka and Naru were already casually chatting as Hayato was forced by several fan slaps to douse the flames of the burning café. Soon they were already walking back up the steps of Hinata-sou.

"So Hayato-kun is staying with us huh?" Naru asked as she led the way to Hinata-sou. "Yeah, he'll be rebuilding the café" Haruka said as he flashed Hayato a deathly glare. "Um, yeah, Sure thing boss!" Hayato hastily replied.

Naru looked at Hayato's burnt and tattered clothes and memories of him saving her from Motoko's attack earlier that day flashed back to her. The images of Hayato's back muscles visible through the burnt skin made her wince. The scent of burnt clothes hanging around the silver haired boy didn't help to alleviate her guilt either.

"Oh by the way…" Naru said as she paused at the top step. "I haven't really thanked you for saving me this morning" She said as she smiled, her cheeks were adorned by a faint pinkish hue. The moonlight illuminated her slender figure and reflected off of her beautiful auburn hair.

"Arigato Gozaimasu, Hayato-kun" Naru said as she gave Hayato a warm smile. "I don't know if this'll make it up to you but I'll help you with your schoolwork if you need any" She said with a deep bow. Haruka turned to the boy and gave him a smug smile as well as a raised eyebrow. "Better take the offer kid" Haruka said while exhaling smoke. "Naru's the top ranking student in Japan"

"U-um…thanks Narusegawa-san!" Hayato bowed in return. "I really appreciate it!" He said with a smile. _"But I don't even go to school"_ he thought to himself.

"I detected an increase in your heart rate daimyo" Sierra said with as she raised an eyebrow and flashed him a knowing grin. "Shut up" Hayato snapped. "Ooooh look your body temperature's rising too!" Sierra giggled.

"Oh my you're blushing!" Sierra squealed happily. "I said shut up!" Hayato thought as he let go of Rashinban and let it hang from behind his waist loosely, hoping that Sierra would leave him alone once his hand lost contact with the sword's hilt.

"Still here" Sierra chimed making Hayato grind his teeth in frustration.

* * *

- Hinata Inn - 

Hayato fell down on his futon with a loud thump as he exhaled the tension from his body. He shifted around until his eyes met the ceiling then smiled contently. He closed his eyes and slipped into his subconscious realm. In a matter of moments he was already lying down on the green fields of his subconscious world. The sakura still continued to fall and flow as they danced with the cool breeze. The soft pink of the petals contrasting the calm blackness of the night sky dotted with countless stars. Hayato was no longer surprised to feel another presence plop down beside him.

He was however rather surprised to feel another paper fan slap him in the face. "What did you do that for?!" He demanded as he quickly got up and rubbed his nose.

"That was for nearly getting yourself killed 3 times in one day!" The pink haired maiden exclaimed angrily as she pouted her lips and furrowed her brow. "Look at these!" She said as she put her hands up to Hayato's face for him to see her fingers which were badly bruised and covered in band-aids. "Do you know how hard it is to run your healing mechanism 24 hours straight?!" She said in between strikes as she chased Hayato across the green fields.

"Take better care of yourself for Radius-sama's sake!" She said as she fell flat on her back on the cool green grass. Hayato, still sore from her assault did the same and chuckled slightly.

"Thanks for working so hard" Hayato said, his eyes closed and a content smile on his face. "I'll pay you back someday"

"How about returning to Orochi Labs so they can get you fixed and I won't need to work at all anymore?" Sierra chimed in happily.

The boy's expression darkened almost instantly. He got up and moved away, not saying a word whatsoever. "That was just a joke daimyo" Sierra said as she chased after him. Hayato stopped on a small mound and sat down. Sierra sat beside him, no words being spoken between the two.

"I understand why you still think going back would be the best thing to do" Hayato said with a sigh. "You weren't there" he continued. "You didn't see what I saw nor feel how it is to be powerless while your own two hands kill the men you thought of as brothers" Hayato said softly. Hayato flashed back to the warehouse where he was suposed to be taken out by the Orochi's soldiers. The faces of the men which were twisted in pain were still fresh in his memory. His memories suddenly shifted to the group of men aiming their guns at both him and his two unnamed companions. The symbol of the Orochi glowing menacingly behind the firing squad and subsequently drowned out by muxxle flashes. A chill ran up the boy's spine as he remembered the pain of bullets ripping through his body.

"You weren't there when they-" Sierra put her arms around her master and tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry" she said. The runaway assassin merely shook his head and looked back up at the stars. "That's not something I should think of anymore" He said, his voice now sounding much happier. "I have a new life now" he said with a smile. "No more killing, no more Orochi" Sierra looked at him understandingly as he lay back down on the ground and slept. "Good night Sierra" he said before drifting off into the plane of unconsciousness.

"Good night damiyo" she said as she kissed his forehead and lay down beside him.

* * *

- The following morning - 

"Ugh" was all the young man could say as he turned the page of his toudai study guide only for his eyes to fall upon the congratulatory words at the book's end. He took off his glasses and placed them on the table before burying his face in it. "I stayed up all night and didn't even solve a single problem!" He screamed as he continued his assault on his own face. "I can't believe this!" Keitaro said to himself.

"I'll never get into toudai at this rate" he said as he let himself fall down on the panelled tatami mats and exhaled his frustrations. He spotted a bottle roll out of his bag and bump him slightly on the head. He picked the bottle up and smiled as he read the inscription. "No use sulking, time to use my secret weapons!" he said with newfound determination. He popped the bottle open and drank the liquids inside along with several pills.

"Go Keitaro!" He thought to himself as he began to study up a storm.

"Someone's been busy last night" Kitsune said as she spied on Keitaro from his half open door. Shinobu was beside her and was watching as well. "I'll get into Toudai and be like senpai too" she thought out loud. "I can do anything if I try" she said again.

"I see you've asked advice from our local toudai student huh?" Kitsune teased the younger girl and she couldn't help but blush as she watched her senpai study like there was no tomorrow. Naru on the other hand was watching Shinobu. The auburn haired beauty bit her lower lip as she contemplated on what to do. She knew his secret, but did she still want to expose him for the fraud that he was?

Hayato opened his eyes slowly as he was awoken by the chatter outside. He got up from his futon mat and stretched his arms out as he let out a relieved sigh. "Ohaiyo Gozaimasu, daimyo" the cheerful voice chimed inside his head. "Ohaiyo" Hayato replied still half asleep.

"A bit early for Keitaro-senpai to be getting in trouble isn't it?" Hayati muttered as he rubbed his eyes. "Don't worry, the decibel count isn't high enough for the voices to be considered hostile." Sierra reassured him as she checked the laptop which magically appeared in her hands. "It's probably just girl gossip or plain chit chat"

The runaway assassin yawned and stretched his arms out as the birds chirped outside his window happily. He scanned his room with a content smile before noticing something new. A large cardboard box with _"Hayato"_ scribbled on the side had been placed right next to the closet. The boy quickly crawled over to it and examined it. A note was attached to it.

_Hayato, _

_I guess you'll be needing something else to wear from now on. Keitaro was kind enough to give you some of his  
clothes for helping him out yesterday. That really meant a lot to him so he says thank you. He also says sorry if  
most of the clothes are black. His sister bought him those and she's into those kinds of things. There's also a little  
thank you from me in here for reminding me that I'm not alone in this world. _

_Here's to "misery loves company"_

_Godspeed,  
Haruka_

_P.S.  
Do something about your hair. I don't want the customers they've got a long strand of silver hair in their tea  
plus a silver haired teenager might creep out the older customers. I expect you to be here 8:30am sharp. Be  
__late and there will be hell to pay. _

A smile crept onto his face while reading the letter. He opens the box to find a pile of shirts and a couple of pairs of jeans all either black, had too many zippers or had some sort of excessive metallic ornaments. Crosses, chains and spikes hung from one of the pairs of jeans Hayato examined. A black, leather trenchcoat with silver crosses on the collars and sleeves made him smirk a little before putting it away.

"Damn" Sierra said. "He wasn't kidding. Everything here's black" she remarked with a chuckle. "His sister must some sort of lolligoth or something"

"I can't see why any guy's sister would want him to wear something like this in public" Hayato said with a smirk.

He settled for a plain black turtle neck shirt with long sleeves and hastily put it on. Selecting the pair of jeans with the least amount of metal hanging from them and a pair of black socks with skull prints, Hayato put them on before continuing to rummage through the large box of goodies. There were shirts, jeans, socks, underwear (still with gothic symbols though) and the aforementioned trench coat but there was another package inside the box. Hayato tore off the brown wrapping paper and his eyes widened at the sight of his two golden .45 semi-automatics, cleaned and newly polished, lying on top of a neatly folded, green bomber jacket. Another note was attached to it.

_"Something from your past along with something from mine"_

Hayato smiled as he put on the jacket which fit him perfectly. He checked his pistols to see them fully loaded before holstering them in the holsters built inside the jacket. He checked his pockets to see three golden magazines inside each. He picked Rashinban off of the floor and tied onto one of his pant loops behind his waist. "It's 8:15 daimyo" Sierra reminded him. "Right" he said as he made his way to the door.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and remembered Haruka's request about his hair. "Already on it" Sierra said before Hayato could even properly conjure up the thought. In a matter of moments Hayato's waistlength hair started to revert to it's original jet black color.

"How the hell did you do that?" Hayato asked in astonishment as he examined one of the jet black strands of hair on his head.

"You were designed to be the ultimate weapon daimyo" Sierra explained happily. "Your SPEAR units are capable of changing your outside appearance in the insatnce that you are needed to infiltrate enemy contolled territory of for missions that require stealth and espionage" She said before snapping her fingers. Hayato's waistlength hair suddenly fell off as if they were snipped by scissors leaving his hair at a length nearly touching his bomber jacket's collar and his bangs hanging over his dark brown eyes but not enough to hinder his vision. His hair retained their messy yet straight, natural styling though.

"Changing you hair color pigments and length are a piece of cake even with your SPEARs downgraded to the level they are now" Sierra siad with her usual radiant smile. "And trust me, they've been downgraded bigtime"

Hayato chuckled as he scratched his new head of hair and observed the reflection in the mirror. "It's gonna take a little getting used to" he said finally before exiting his room heading down to the cafe. The way down was uneventful as everyone seemed to be busy with their day to day activities. Just right since Hayato couldn't be late for his first day of work.

He made it to the cafe which looked at lot worse in the light of the morning sunshine than it did in the fires of last night. The entrance was blackened by soot and shattered peices of wood, table, chair and kitchen lay scattered all over the place. The interior wasn't pretty either as more than half of it was charred beyond recognition. Most if not all the tables and chairs were either burnt of riddled with bullet holes from the gunfight and there was barely anything left of the counter where he was tasked to work. Hayato cleared his path of splintered chunks of wood with his foot and sighed at the mess he had made.

His heightened sense of hearing picked up the sound of footsteps coming up from the steps. He exitted the charred reamains of the cafe in time to see Haruka climbing up the steps, her perpetually lit cigarette dangling from her lips.

"Ohaiyo gozaimasu" she said with a faint smile as she climbed up the last step. "The jacket looks good on you" she said happily. Hayato returned the smile and bowed. "I appreciate everything you've done for me" he said and this made Haruka chuckle. "You'll be appreciating me a lot more since you won't be working just yet" Haruka said with a puff. "At least not in the cafe"

Hayato raised his eyebrow. "The cafe needs to be rebuilt first" Haruka continued. "And I've got some friends to help" she said as she snapped her fingers and several muscular men dressed in business suits, tatoos and shades came up behind her.

"Think you can handle this boys?" she asked calmly. "Will do Haruka" one of them said as the men took off their jackets, rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Hayato stared in awe at the men as they tore down the place and several more of them came up the steps carrying blocks of wood and other construction materials. Hayato gaped at them then he turned towards the stoic cafe owner.

"Who the hell are these people?" he asked in astonishment.

"Old friends who owe me favors" Haruka said. "And let's leave it at that"

Hayato continued to observe the men at work. They seemed oddly familiar as if he knew them from somewhere. Hayato didn't know their names personally but he felt an unshakeable sense of familiarity. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. "You can't help here" Haruka said. "Go back up to the inn and see if you can help out in any chores" she said with a kind smile. "That'll be how you'll earn your keep for the time being"

Hayato smiled at her and nodded before making his way back up to the steps. "Thanks a lot boys!" Haruka said behind him. "No problem Haruka" the men replied in unison.

"It's the least Orochi Industries can do to pay you back for your services" a tall, bald and equally muscular man approached Haruka and bowed. He was wearing sunglasses as well and a gold pin on his collar signified his position over the other men. The pin failed to prevent him from working though.

Hayato froze that very instant. _"They're here_" he said as his mind went a mile a minute_. "Dammit she led them right to me"_

_"Easy daimyo, they haven't recognized you yet_" Sierra said as she thought of a way to help her master.

"Hard to find good help these days" Haruka said as she chatted with one of the muscular workers.

"Who's the kid?" he asked as he picked up a log of burnt lumber and tossed it away.

"Oh him? That's the 'hard-to-find-good-help' I've been telling you about" Haruka said with a chuckle. "Hey kid come over here, let me introduce you" Haruka called out as cold beads of sweat began to form on Hayato's forehead and the back of his neck.

_"How many of them_?" He asked Sierra hastily as he turned around slowly, stalling for all the time he could.

_"What_?" Sierra asked in surprise_. "Dammit, how many men are there?!" _

_"Umm, 15 working here, 15 bringing up the construction supplies and the Orochi always has 10 more on standby for emergencies. 40 men total"_

_"Dammit" _He thought as he now faced a smiling Haruka signalling him to come over. _"I might still be able to handle them even with the downgraded SPEAR units_" the runaway assassin thought through clenched teeth he kept hidden behind his smiling lips_. "And killing them will only make the Orochi know that I'm here_" he said again as frustration slowly made itself evident in his face.

_"You can only run away from your past for so long"_ Haruka's voice repeated in his mind. _"You can be sure it'll catch up with you someday_"

Hayato's eyes narrowed as he stood still and his fingers twitched. The cold steel of his pistols sleeping in their holsters pierced through his clothing as if calling out ot him. A little more and he might heed their call. A little more and 40 more men might lose their lives today. Hayato closed his eyes as memories from the night at the warehouse flashed back to him. The bodies of the Orochi's dead men, the flaming carcass of steel which were once two helicopters as they crashed behind him while he sped away on a motorcycle and finally the image of the Ororchi glowing behind the firing squad and the look of the two men who stood beside him.

He reopened his eyes and a calm look was now on his face. _"It won't come to that"_ he said to himself but he still refused to move.

_"I promise it won't come to that"_

_To be continued..._

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_Read and Review please. See you next chapter! 


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